War Torn
by Three Evil Weapons
Summary: Young Aiorem Heiwa soon finds herself trapped within the spiraling war that rages as her saviors from both sides make a grave decision that could alter the conclusion of this endless war. Warning: OC and MAJOR OOC!
1. A Chance Meeting

**Author's Note: **This is originally a role play that has been going on at my forum but became a back and forth project with myself and my friend. We've been going at it for the better part of the months and what we've got done I decided to edit together to make a fanfic; so excuse the weird switching between writing styles. I play as the main character, Aiorem Heiwa while she does all of the original characters from the SEED series. I take no credit for what she did with them!

**Phase 1: A Chance Meeting**

A young man was strolling down the halls in a bustling Earth Alliance base. Paying no mind to any of the other cadets, the lone soldier strode by, having an Mp3 player blasting in his ear, he was oblivious to those around him...

He stopped and leaned over the railing to check on the progress made on repairing his Gundam.

"Tch...they always take too long..." he sneered, leaning back on the wall and closing his eyes, dozing off into his own little world.

Ai was passing around the base as she attempted to find her way. 'I'll never get anywhere at this rate...' she thought as everyone was passing her by. She was nearly invisible to all those around her, after all she was a mere child. Sighing she finally found her way to the hanger and dropped to the ground in exhaustion.

"What a day..." she said under her breath, placing her list of things to do on her lap. 'I wonder if I'll ever get my chance...' she thought as she gazed in awe at the machines before her. Leaning up against the railing she thought it was about time she took a break so she stayed there for a breather, hoping that no one would see her slacking.

The teen noticed that he was no longer alone, although it seemed that this new person had no clue that he was there. He had never been one to actually 'talk' to people, and he couldn't see why this girl was any different. 'Why is she staring at Forbidden?' he thought, seeing as how she took such interest in the mechs.

Unfortunately, starting conversations was never his thing.

"Hey you! What the hell about my Gundam interests you so much?" he questioned, although it sounded more like he had demanded it. Ai heard the comment and was more than a little startled. She fumbled with her list as she took a sigh of relief when she had finally taken hold of it. Then she got herself up off of the floor and dusted herself off a bit as she turned to face her interrogator.

"Oh, I'm sorry." she said politely to him, seeing as she was normally accustomed to referring to everyone as 'sir' or 'ma'am'. "I was just remembering something that happened a long time ago..." she answered him as she leaned up against the rails again, though her height was somewhat restricting.

"Hey kid! What do you think you're doing in here!" shouted someone as Ai jumped back.

"Ah no..." she moaned as she backed into the other side of the railing. A worried look took her face as the voice soon became two, then three and so on. She was about to turn back to run when she lost her bearings from the rails and slipped. At the last minute she managed to fasten herself onto the side with her clipboard but she began to slip. She did not request help, she merely sighed as she stared blankly at those who were pursuing her.

"Isn't this just great...?" she said sarcastically still hanging on by so little.

Shani merely stood and stared at this new person as she hung for dear life by the bare of her clipboard.

"Heh, so we let a civilian in here. Now that's different..." he muttered. He walked over to the edge of the railing and pulled her up, ignoring the frequent shouts from his fellow cadets.

"God damn! All of you just shut up! How the hell am I supposed to read, huh!" came another voice from behind him. Shani abruptly turned around to face an irritated pilot.

"Orga! What the fuck do you think you're doin' here?" Shani moaned, all but happy at the arrival of his comrade.

"What the hell is your problem? Damn, you're so edgy..." Orga taunted. "Anyways, what's with the girl? You got something goin' on?" he teased, all the while keeping a malicious smirk plastered onto his face.

"Dammit Orga! Nothing's going on!" Shani growled, sending Orga a death glare.

"Can't you bastards ever keep it quiet? I'm dying on this fucking level because of you!" joined another voice.

"Stay outta this you midget!" Orga sneered, pushing Crot aside.

"Oh come on! Everyone's a midget compared to you!" Crot retorted. The three, amongst their arguing, had completely forgotten about the young girl from earlier. It seemed as if fighting were about to erupt between the three arguing pilots, until the alarms sounded.

"I-It's the ZAFT forces!" stammered one of the operators.

"Dammit!" muttered Crot, particularly angry that ZAFT had chosen this exact moment to strike.

"Come on..." Orga murmured before running off with the other soldiers to get suited up along with Crot, though Shani held back for a moment.

"You might wanna get outta here..." he whispered. "By the way, don't go getting your ass killed out there..." He gave her an intent look, then ran off to join the other pilots disappearing in the frenzy of mechanics and soldiers.

Ai stood there, holding her papers close. She did not quite know what to make of the commotion.

"They're pilots..." she said softly as she stood there in awe. She gripped the board tightly as a determined look replaced her awed expression. "There's no way I'm letting this pass me by!" she shouted as she was about to follow after the three. She stopped as she looked down at the Gundams. 'There has to be some way I can-...' she shook off her thoughts and fastened a rope to the railing and around her waist. Then, leaping over the rails, eased her way down to the hanger floor. 'Easy does it...' she thought as she swiftly and gently made her way down to the ground.

"I made it." she sighed in relief as she whipped the sweat from her forehead.

"Hey, you! Identify yourself." came a voice from nearby. 'Oh, come on!' she thought as she was soon surrounded. "You, you're not a soldier!" Ai backed away until she was up against the wall, she gripped her fist tightly in frustration.

"There's no way... That I'm going to let you get in my way!" she shouted as she managed to get them all to waiver.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!" commanded one of them who approached Ai with intensity. A smirk appeared on her face.

"I'm going to be taking what I came for!" she said as she confronted them all. Immediately she was restrained with little to no effort.

"Not so tough now, huh?" they mocked as they held her down tighter. A scheming smile appeared on her face as she ceased her struggling.

"I wouldn't be so sure..." and with that she kicked those who were restraining her and got her arms free from their grasp. Grabbing hold of her clip board, she knocked the rest of them down with one swift maneuver. "And that's why you don't get in the way..." she remarked slyly rubbing her hands together, her board under her arm. "Now then, I suppose I need to find somewhere to stay low..." she said to herself as she left the group of unconscious soldiers. She glanced around the somewhat empty hanger only to find nothing, until...

"Over there, that's the wench!" came a familiar voice. It was the soldiers she had avoided earlier on, they had finally made their way down to the hanger floor and were ready for some pay back. They had also brought along a few weapons for extra precautions. Ai was once again backed into a corner. 'No way out..' she thought as she desperately glance around for an escape. They continued to move in on her. Ai's first instinct was to run, but she had been avoiding these people for so long that she knew it was only a matter of time. She hugged onto her board tightly, hoping that no one could see within it's contents.

"So... You're the punk who stole the blue prints. Well now, you're going to be having a nice long talk with the higher ups..." one said as he took hold of her arm and forcefully dragged her away. Ai continued her struggle and held her board ever so closely until they finally got serious and pulled out their weapons. "Don't you even think about running..." they threatened her. She had no choice but to give in. "That's right... Now, move it!" he shouted, kicking her forward as they restrained her hands behind her back.

'So this is it..?' she thought as she reluctantly continued forward. 'Father... just how is it I can end this fighting on my own..?' she thought, taking a glance toward the mobiles. In the back of her mind something was shouting out to her. 'Run, get out of there!' but it was the strange feeling in her chest that she was following...

"We have to hurry!" shouted one of the cadets. "They're breaking through our defenses!" Most of the Strike Daggers were already launched and shockwaves began to be felt all around.

"Damned coordinators..." muttered Orga, who was taking his necessary dose of gamma glipheptin.

"They're all the same...engineered bastards..." grumbled Crot, still trying to get suited. Shani just kept quiet, still thinking about the girl who he had left behind earlier. The three dashed out into the docking bay. Shani approached the Forbidden only to find that the repairs weren't complete.

"You can't! The Geschmeidig Panzer System is still down from your last battle! It's Forbidden's main advantage! You can't go taking a close range model into battle with out some kind of defense! You don't even have a shield!" reasoned the mechanic.

"Screw you! It's your fault you're so damned slow!" Shani growled, roughly shoving the desperate mechanic to the side.

"You'll be killed out there!" he added, trying to change the stubborn pilot's mind.

"Too bad, unlike you, I'm not afraid to die..." Shani murmured while climbing into Forbidden's cockpit and starting up the OS. He saw that both Calamity and Raider had already launched. "Dammit, those dirtbags..." he muttered, but then stopped as he zoomed in on something with Forbidden's monitor.

'It's her...' he thought. 'What the hell are they doing to her! Damn! I told her to get her ass outta here...' He then turned Forbidden around to face the conflicting people and brought the scythe down right in between them causing the men down below to wince in fear of the colossal mech.

"Let go of her, she's just a civilian! Damn, you're all such jackasses..." Shani remarked using the speaker system installed in most mobile suits. He then aimed the plasma induction cannon right at one of the armed soldiers. "I'm not afraid to do this... Leave now before you leave this reality in pieces..." Shani murmured. The soldiers gave frantic nods before scampering off and ditching their weapons behind. "Are you okay? You should've left when I told you to..." Shani muttered, now focusing his attention on the girl rather than on the raging battle just outside of the base.

"I'm sorry... But I have a job to do, and I can't leave until I finish it." she said intently as she dropped her head some so as not to have to face him. She never liked to be put in these sort of situations, for if her secret was revealed then all of what her family had been fighting for might just go in vein. She walked over to the place in which she had lost grip on her board and pick it up. She just stood there looking up at the Gundam, her eyes gleamed with determination. All the while wondering to herself if she had any more options left to her.

"Eh? A job? Well, I'm just gonna say that in my damned opinion that no fucking job is worth dying over, you're so young..." Shani remarked, stepping out of his cockpit for the time being, but then he noticed the determined look that the girl wore. "Gah... Damn... I know Azrael won't approve of this, but I can't have you blowin' up in the middle of the battlefield..." Shani grumbled. "Just get on and hurry up! I don't have the time!" He then lowered the extension rope used for getting into the cockpit.

Her eyes widened as he lowered the rope. She did not know why exactly he had decided to assist her, for he did not even know her name, let alone her intentions. Walking over to rope, she was about to grab hold but was hesitant. She looked up at him a bit lost for what to do, though shook it off as she felt the impact of another blast. Taking tight hold of her board, she took hold of the rope firmly.

"Okay..." she shouted up to him, though her words faded away.

Shani was still trying to contemplate what he had gotten himself into as he retracted the extension rope.

"So, what's your name anyways?" Shani questioned, keeping a tight grip on her so she wouldn't fall off of such a tremendous height. Shani looked reluctantly at the cramped up space of his Gundam's cockpit... He gave an audible sigh. "I hope you're not claustrophobic, because if so, then you're screwed..." he muttered. He sat down and tried to scoot over as to make enough room in a space that was meant for one. He waited for her to get in before proceeding with any other movements with Forbidden.

"It's Aiorem, Aiorem Heiwa... or just Ai, if you'd like..." she said somewhat quietly as she made her way into the cockpit after him. She didn't turn to face him the whole way for her thoughts were starting to weigh down heavily on her. 'Why..?' she thought to herself. 'Why did you all have to be involved in this... and why-... Why do we continue this fight..?' She was consumed in her troubled thinking, for stress something she was always prone to deal with sooner or later.

"I'm afraid I never caught your name..." she said softly, trying to keep her mind set on something other than the future and the past.

"The name's Shani Andras, nothing much to it..." he muttered, as he maneuvered his Gundam onto the launch pad. "Just hang on...it tends to get a bit rough when we launch..." he warned, as all of the signals were shown. They were hurled out of the warship and onto the blazing battlefield. Immediately, several DINNs came at them from behind and were shot down by Calamity's Scylla Cannon.

"What the fuck took you so long!" Orga demanded.

"We're dying out here! We're getting hammered!" Crot exclaimed.

"Well, I'm here now aren't I? Damn, learn some patience!" Shani retorted, trying to counter both of their words.

"We've already lost half of our units!" came a voice from over the com. system. Yet another Strike Dagger was brought down in a burning blaze and the waters of the Atlantic were reflecting the reddish hue, turning the ocean an angry red. Forbidden was trying to hold off most of the enemies, but they were proving too much without the Panzer System.

"Argh, Forbidden can't keep this up any longer..." Shani moaned, watching as the energy gauge was slowly depleting.


	2. Hidden Abilities

**Phase 2: A Hidden Ability**

Ai could see the trouble they were in on the battlefield. Their units were being decimated at an alarming rate and the energy in the Gundams wasn't going to hold out much longer. 'There has to be something...' she thought to herself as she scanned the controls. 'That's it!' Ai turned on the com system and readied a plan of action.

"Listen up, both of you!" she shouted as she struggled to get their attention. "At the rate you're going you'll all run out of energy at the same time and then the enemy will take their strike. Don't let their tactics get the better of you!" she preached out to them, still not too sure if they were paying any mind to the child's words. "We have to out maneuver them and shake their battalions!"

Looking around, Ai scanned the current area they were fighting in the battlefield.

"Shani, I need you and the other two units to strike the water's surface." she instructed him.. "If we can shield your units with the water, even if it's only for a split second, you can surprise the enemy and use the suns's rays and water's mist as cover. From there you have to work together in order to take down the main unit. Doing so will shake the other soldiers and they will have no choice but to retreat and regroup!" she said to him, as she focused in on the battle.

"Your Gundams still have more than enough energy to take them down and win this fight. You can't hesitate any longer!" she desperately shouted to them all, not knowing if they would even accept her help in this current crisis.

"What the...Shani! You have that girl in your cockpit!" Orga exclaimed, not knowing what to think. "I knew it! Something was going on!"

"No! No! It's not what you think! Now just listen to her, dammit! It's our only chance!" Shani yelled, trying to reason with the other two.

"But she's just a kid! This isn't a game! We're fighting a fucking war!" Crot interjected.

"What other choice do we have!" Shani reasoned. A moment of silence was exchanged between the three.

"Alright, but this better work..." Orga grumbled, after carefully evaluating the situation.

"Aw damn...fine, I'll do it." Crot moaned.

"Thanks, I owe you one..." Shani mumbled.

"You have that right!" they cried out in unison. The three units split up from their current position.

"So their main unit's that GINN Reconnaissance...we can take that down...hey, I think her plan will actually work..." Crot remarked, playing out the whole scene in his head.

"Get ready, we gotta do this with precision..." Orga stated. "Now!"

Raider hurled it's spherical breaker at a high speed and watched as it crashed into the waters bringing up a wave of water, while Forbidden used it's scythe to create a mini tsunami and Calamity blasted one round from it's bazooka, bringing up a curtain of water, further shielding the Gundams.

"What the..." mumbled a ZAFT soldier, who had gotten caught in the water's spray, and was now trying to maneuver his GINN out of the watery veil, but luck wasn't with him... He had run smack dab into Calamity, who had his bazooka trained right at the cockpit.

"Well, look what we have here..." Orga remarked, firing a swift blast and demolishing the GINN, pilot and all.

"Get on slow-mo!" Crot called as Raider turned into it's mobile armor form.

"Just cover me!" Shani stated as he maneuvered Forbidden towards the Reconnaissance.

"Ya heard him Orga... Fire at anything that moves!" Crot hollered.

"Yeah, yeah... I get you loud and clear!" Orga replied, firing several rounds in succession. Forbidden was swiftly closing the distance between him and the Reconnaissance.

"What the hell? What is that!" yelped the commander of the fleet as a Gundam seemed to appear out of thin air right in front of him.

"Checkmate..." Shani whispered as he used the heavy scythe to slice the unit in half.

"Commander!" came several yells from the ZAFT Forces. Shani was too busy focusing on the DINNs and GINNs to notice that a shadow was drifting silently underneath the water. Crot happen to spot this before anyone else though from his position in midair.

"Get your ass outta there! It's a Zno!" Crot warned. Shani switched the angle of the view screen to find a Zno right under his current position. He had tried to activate the Panzer System until the screen flashed the words 'ERROR'.

"Dammit!" Shani growled, slamming his hands on the control board. "Ai! Brace yourself!" he shouted before the Zno sent an energy blast in their direction, causing the whole unit to buckle and lose a great deal of energy.

"Die you worthless natural!" hollered the Zno's pilot, who was getting ready to aim another round of fire.

"Shit..." Shani murmured through grit teeth, that was until a shot whizzed by the from above.

"Hey, thought you needed some assistance..." Orga remarked.

"Thanks..." Shani grumbled.

"Dammit, retreat!" yelled the second-in-command.

"You haven't won yet, filthy naturals..." growled a random soldier. The ZAFT Forces slowly turned to leave and slowly retreated, leaving only the three Gundams and the remaining survivors.

"Head back! All of you! Get some rest, you'll need it..." Orga commanded. The Gundams and the Daggers headed back and landed back in the docking bay, where all of the pilots proceeded to dismounting their mobile suits and getting unsuited. Shani proceeded to helping Ai out of the cockpit, where Orga and Crot waited down below.

"I can't believe this...you fucking did it!" exclaimed Orga.

"Damn...that was awesome! Although I can't comprehend how the hell you did that..." Crot remarked. Shani just gave her a slight grin, although in his mind he was trying to contemplate how she had done all that. 'How did she know where the com. system was? Most normal kids don't even know how to write in cursive yet, nonetheless being able to use the com. system! And how did she manage to come up with that strategy? There's something odd about her...' Shani pondered, while still standing in the same spot.

"Yo! Are you dead or something?" Crot interrupted.

"You can't die standing up, dumbass!" Orga retorted, as he began walking off.

"Yes you can! At least I think you can..." Crot murmured, wandering off into the halls still trying to argue with the other pilot.

"Wow...that Panzer System does make up most of Forbidden's advantages..." Shani mumbled to himself, while looking over all the damage that had been done to his Gundam. He then decided that this was going to be the best time to ask Ai about her actions from earlier. "Ai...I've been meaning to ask you something..." he began, but just as he was about to ask the rest of his question, a sharp pain made him double over, kneeling on the ground. "No...not now..." Shani groaned.

Ai was just as ready as ever for them to give her a big long sit down until she saw Shani's position. Her eyes widened as she tried to comprehend what was happening.

"Shani!" she shouted as she rushed down to his side. "Shani... Are you all right..?" she questioned still a bit confused about the situation. Soldiers approached them, a bit lost on what to do with her.

"Bring the pilot back where he belongs." growled the officer as soldiers took hold of Shani. They then took a glance back at the girl.

"Uh, sir... What about the child..?" questioned one of the soldiers.

"Drag her with the pilot, we have no use for civilians in this area." he said sending Ai an annoyed look. She merely stood there, sending him back her innocence as she held tight to her board.

"Yes sir!" he said as he straightened up his posture and walked over to Ai. "Okay, just follow us." with that the soldier moved forward along with Shani while Ai followed a bit sluggishly behind. She was limping slightly and slinging her arm trying to keep the pain in both areas to a minimum. 'Darn... I guess they were more reckless than I thought, it's not serious but...' she looked down at her board and gave a quiet sigh as she tried to speed up.

"You just stay here for the time being, understand?" asked the soldier as he led her into the same room as the three pilots. She nodded and bowed in thanks, thinking that she might as well pull the wool over their eyes while she still had the chance. The door closed behind the soldier as Ai was now left in the room with the three. She could easily see the fact that they were all in pain, but she had no time to try and fix it so she leaned up against a wall in the corner and fell down to the ground as her legs gave way.

"Ow..." she moaned as she couldn't figure out whether to be worrying about the pilots, their questions or her current physical state. She took her board from under her arms and placed it onto her lap, staring at it intently. 'The answers may all lie in this from here on out...' she thought to herself. 'I can't let this go on any longer... I-... I'll tell them...' she finally agreed in her mind as she looked up at the three again. "I'll do what it takes... to end the suffering..." she whispered as she fixed her position and waited.

The three pilots were trying to keep their screaming down to a minimum, but the pain was becoming almost unbearable. Shani looked up slightly as Ai made her way over. He had noticed that she was slightly injured and limping. 'Damn, must've been when that Zno that hit Forbidden...' he thought.

"Ai..." Shani managed to gasp out, his vision slightly blurring. Orga and Crot looked up at Ai trying to comprehend why anyone would even want to be with them, but brushed it off as they were hit with another wave of pain. The door opened once more as a scientist walked in carrying three vials. The three pilots limped up and greedily snatched the vials and drank down the fluid content. The pain slowly subsided leaving the three pilots panting and fatigued.

"Sorry you had to see that..." Shani muttered, trying to regain his composure from earlier. Orga and Crot nodded in solemn agreement.

"To them, we're tools..." Orga remarked.

"We'll just be replaced if anything were to happen..." Crot finished.

"Now about my earlier question..." Shani began. "How do you know so much?"

"Yeah, no kid should be able to do all that!" exclaimed Orga. The three pilots stared at her, waiting for her reply. Ai looked up at them as her thoughts clouded her mind. She was piecing together everything in her head but kept coming up blank. It was a habit of hers to overanalyze everything, especially when it wasn't need.

"You're right..." she began. "I shouldn't have been able to do what I just did. Especially when the truth is I've never been in a mobile suit before." she stopped and brought herself to her feet, though she winced in pain for a brief second.

"Coordinators and Naturals, how the lines have been blurred between realities... Where do the lies cease and where do the truths begin?" she questioned to them, though it was not direct. She leaned on the wall and took a deep breath as she closed her eyes. "My father used to always question things while he constructed them... his supposed plans for the answer." she turned to face them again, her eyes sparkling with innocence. "Yet he entrusted this plan to me. A mere twelve year old Natural trapped in this war." she motioned to them to see if they were looking at the papers. "My family was sucked into this war and forced to provide the military with their so called 'exceptional abilities', but when they refused..." she stopped her self as her words be came choked. She turned her head away in pain, trying to hide her tears as she clenched her fists tightly. "They spared no one, but my family held them off just enough to let me escape..!"

Consumed by tears she sunk to the floor and tried to ease herself. She could no longer tell if she was telling them what they needed to know or what she wanted them to know. Finally, she managed to continue.

"They all called it 'talent' and a 'special ability'... but I call it a curse!" she shouted in disgust. "All the machines have done is cause more pain and make this war last longer... and yet, by some miracle I'm supposed to find the answer when all I can do is create plans.. those of which I can't even act upon..!" she ceased to let herself continue as her emotions were beginning to get the better of her. It felt as if she had fallen into a dark place, a place where no one could reach her as she sit there, torn...

The three glanced up at her, taking in the full meaning of her words.

"Yeah, war can get pretty fucked up..." Orga commented, giving her almost a sympathetic look.

"Being used for just your 'talents', that's what they all do..." Crot mumbled.

"No consideration, we all know how that feels..." Shani murmured.

"Not that we've always been supposedly what people would call a role model citizen." Orga remarked. Crot and Shani looked up at Orga, giving him a look of disapproval.

"Now why the hell did you have to go and mention that!" Shani demanded.

"Yeah, you're not supposed to go disclosing shit like that!" Crot added. Both of them began advancing towards Orga, who was still clueless.

"You gotta learn to keep your damn mouth shut!" Crot yelled trying to tackle him, but missed and ended up colliding with the wall.

"Argh! Damn you!" Crot growled. Shani, who wasn't as reckless as Crot was, grabbed the nearest object he could reach for, Ai's clipboard, and flung it at Orga's head. It hit him head on, but it's contents came spewing out...

"Hey! What the fuck!" Orga retorted, rubbing the spot on his head where the clipboard had struck him. Shani had realized just what the clipboard's contents were.

"No way...these are blue prints..." Shani murmured, turning around to face Ai. "What were you planning to do with these?" Orga and Crot picked up some of the blue prints and scanned them over.


	3. Troubled Minds

**Phase 3: Troubled Minds**

"Shani, these are Gundam blue prints." Orga stated, handing over some of them to Shani. Shani was plainly shocked at all of the blue prints that Ai had managed to steal.

"Alright, we want answers, and we want them now. For all we know, you could be some kind of spy from ORB... Just what are your intentions?" Orga demanded, taking on a more serious demeanor.

Ai looked up at them, as she whipped away her tears and stood up to face them. She sent them an empty gaze as she went on to defend herself.

"Blue prints? Really, I'd call them mere sketches with the details that are on them... I'm no spy, I can assure you all of that." she said moving toward them a bit. "And I'm not apart of anything! I refuse to get caught up with such things as 'sides'... Though I guess I can understand why you feel distrust, but those are my blue prints..." she said as she picked up one that was still on the floor. She displayed it to them with a slight smile.

"I like to design new models by combining traits from the actual. Trying to complete and perfect them is my specialty, though most assume that I take them and therefore am labeled 'spy'. So go ahead and think what you will, for I honestly can't defend myself..." She continued to look at them, not knowing what kind of actions they'd take. Shani, Crot and Orga gave her puzzled looks.

"You mean you did all this!" Crot asked, mouth hanging agape.

"Holy shit... now you're something special..." muttered Orga, who was now scanning the blue prints trying to find out how a mere twelve-year-old child could do so much.

"By the way, don't worry, we'll keep your secret. Why would we tell those bastards anything like that?" Shani commented, taking quite some amusement to the girl's special 'talent'.

"One question, how are we supposed to keep you around the base without Azrael questioning us? I think adoption is out of the question..." Crot remarked. The three pilots gave each other awkward looks, and shrugs as to what to do with their new 'addition'. Ai stared at them all blankly at the comment as she started to become a bit flustered. She cleared her throat and dusted herself off a bit trying not to interrupt their 'conversation'. 'That's right... What am I going to do now..?' she thought as she stood there, seemingly staring out into space once more.

--flashback--

"Daddy, daddy look! I did it!" Ai shouted as she dashed over to him cheerfully. "Look!" she said to him as she held out a small mechanical bird. "Isn't he cute?" The man placed his hand on her forehead and smiled gracefully.

"That's a fine job you've done there, Aiorem. I'm very proud." he said as he held out his finger for the bird to perch upon. Ai smiled as she placed her hands behind her back and leaned back and forth in place. "Ai, you've been doing very well lately. I think it's about time we show you something new." he said as he stood up from his seat and walked over to a door hidden behind a shelf. He entered in a code and the door opened, he motioned for her. Ai dashed over to see what it was only to stop in place as she stood in pure amazement.

"I want you to meet your next project..."

--end flashback--

Meanwhile, the three were still arguing, they hadn't noticed that Ai had been reliving a moment of her life, that is until footsteps could be heard echoing down the hall.

"Oh shit! Someone's coming!" Orga hissed trying to keep his voice down.

"And what's wrong with that?" Crot questioned.

"Oh my god! We gotta hide Ai!" Shani yelped, the fact sinking in. A look of panic crossed all three of their faces.

"Where!" Crot whispered. There was no place to hide, there was only a bare room with a small couch and a door.

"Improvise! Just hurry!" Orga insturcted, as the footsteps got closer.

"This ain't gonna be comfy..." Crot muttered. "The only place it looks like you can hide is underneath the couch or we can pile the cushions on top of ya..." The footsteps stopped right in front of the door as the correct numbers were punched in.

"Nevermind that! Now!" Shani hissed as he shoved Ai under the couch. "Sorry..." he whispered to Ai right when the door opened and in stepped none other than Muruta Azrael. Shani, Orga and Crot put their bleak expressions back on.

"What now?" growled Shani.

"Oh come now boys, I heard that you kept the ZAFT Forces at bay, I'm quite pleased..." Azrael commented.

"Screw it you fag..." Orga muttered under his breath.

"I want you to keep this up...and if your performance falters, well, they'll be 'consequences'..." Azrael hinted. "You three seem tense, like your hiding something..."

"Fuck off! We're not hiding anything!" Orga retorted.

"It's not like we can come out of the god damned battlefield with smiles on our faces!" Crot bitterly added.

"Alright... Just remember, you're nothing..." he said as he briskly strode out of the small room. All three pilots let out a sigh of relief.

"That was too close for comfort..." Orga muttered.

"Hasn't he ever heard of a thing called privacy?" Shani murmured.

"Hey, you alright down there?" Crot asked, directing his question at Ai and waiting for a response. Ai waved her hand from under the couch at the comment. 'Oh yeah... I'm just dandy, you know? I've only been shoved around for how long!' she thought to herself as she clenched her fist.

"Urgh... the nerve!" she said under her breath trying not to let her anger get through. She shook the feeling as she made her attempt to get out from under the couch. "Help..?" she said softly as she stuck her hand out from under the furniture. 'You know, that's the least you could do...' she thought to herself as she restrained her anger yet again. "Oh, and could I possibly have my things back..?"

"Oops... sorry. You should know if Azrael had found a kid in here... well, he wouldn't be very happy..." Shani muttered, grabbing the extended hand and pulling. Within moments, Ai was out from underneath the couch, and a bit of dust covered her too.

"Told you we should've cleaned this place!" Orga remarked as he brushed some of the soot off of Ai.

"Heh...you don't wanna know what Azrael would do to us if we crossed him..." Crot mumbled, keeping his face down to the ground.

"It's not like we're normal soldiers..." Shani added, his gaze lowering to the ground. Little did they know that they would be getting quite an unexpected surprise.

"I don't know why we put up with the bastard..." Orga growled, leaning against the door, glaring at the wall that stood opposite of him.

"Damn freak, I just wished he-..." Crot began, but was cut short as the door opened once more, sending Orga tumbling to the ground.

"Wished I what?" sneered Azrael, who had walked back in.

"Damn..." Crot grumbled, knowing that he had gotten himself into some deep shit.

"I knew there was something 'suspicious', now I find little children in the area? Now boys, what's the meaning of this? The base is strictly off limits to anyone other than Blue Cosmos personnel..." Azreal sneered, a smirk appearing on his face.

"She's just a civilian, it doesn't matter!" Crot protested.

"Now, now...it's an infraction of the rules. We can't let that go by, she'll have to be taken into custody..." Azrael stated.

"You're not gonna lay any of your fucking hands on her!" Shani growled, taking out a gun and pointing it at Azrael.

"You're so hostile...then again, that just means that those microchips in your brains are working quite well..." Azrael calmly explained. "Anyways...if you shoot, I'll shoot the girl..." Azrael drew a handgun and pointed it at Ai. Immediately both Orga and Crot threw themselves in front of her.

"Fuck off!" Orga retorted drawing his own gun.

"Same here..." Crot added, adding another handgun to their little arsenal.

"This won't do at all..." Azrael remarked. "There's more than one way to get what you want..." He then turned to the scatter of papers on the ground and picked one of them, still keeping the gun trained on them. "Well, what's this?" Azrael muttered, scanning the piece of paper. "These are blue prints..." he murmured. "They're not ours...but that would mean..."

He walked up to Orga and Crot and stared down at the little girl who they were trying to protect.

"This is... magnificent!" Azrael remarked, looking at the girl in awe, but still trying to comprehend how a youth could do all of this when even their most advanced engineers could not produce something of so much quality. 'This girl may be of use to me after all...' Azreal thought, the look of shock on his face getting replaced by his infamous smirk. "The girl can stay, but as 'punishment' for your defiance, there will be no more gamma glipheptin for the likes of you!" Azrael stated, strolling out of the room in his normal composure.

"Damn..." Shani growled, taking a seat on the couch, while throwing the gun onto the spot next to him.

"What are we gonna do now?" Crot asked.

"Without the gamma glipheptin, we're screwed!" Orga gave a defeated sigh. They had just run into yet another one of their problems. Ai stood there, trying to figure out just what exactly happened. She turned her glance to the area in which he picked up the paper. She clenched her fist in frustration as she glared at the spot.

"That... That creep!" she shouted as she rushed over to the area. She frantically started rummaging through them all scattered on the floor. "He didn't-..." she kept saying to herself as she desperately scanned the materials. Letting go they all fell to the ground as she punched the ground in anger. "He took it...!" she continued to coldly stare at the ground.

"Well, there's only one thing I can think of..." Orga began, giving the others a look and watching as they nodded in approval. "We're gonna retrieve your blueprints! Anyways, what else do we have to lose?"

"In other words..." Crot began. "We're gonna kick his fucking ass and get your stuff back!"

"There you have it, straight from the mouth of a smartass!" Shani taunted.

"Stop it you dumbasses... we gotta get going before Azrael decides to build whatever was on that piece of paper." Orga reasoned.

"Ai, you should stay here, some of the guards you thumped earlier are probably still pissed off at you..." Shani stated.

"Well, it's now or never! get a move on! Damn! I'm not getting any younger!" Crot shouted, becoming very impatient.

"Alright, now stay here, unless you'd have another scheme?" Orga questioned, giving the girl an intent look. "By the way, I never did catch your name..."

"It's Aiorem Heiwa, but you can just call me Ai." she said politely once more as she got back to her feet and took a quick bow. "And I say we let him have his fun constructing it..." she said as she smiled with a scheme. "I've been trying forever to try and construct one of my projects but have never been able to find the right supplies. I'm sure he's just smart enough to know that if he doesn't follow those blue prints word for word then his whole project will be worthless." she walked over to the door and placed her hand on it as she turned to face them. "And besides, I've always wanted to take it out for a test run."

"Heh, is that so?" Crot asked. "Well, I'm starting to like the way you think... the name's Crot Buer."

"That's not a bad idea at all, name's Orga Sabnak." Orga commented. Shani just leaned back into the corner.

"Told you she wasn't that bad..." he justified, a smug grin found on his face.

"We still have the problem with obtaining more of that drug..." Orga reminded, not letting the fact slip from his mind.

"Well, what are we going to do? They'll never tell us about the whereabouts of the substance, we just normally get it from those labcoat freaks..." Crot protested.

"We just gotta find a way...before the effects start wearing out again..." Shani muttered, trying to think up a plan.

"About that..." she said as she turned herself around completely. "You say you need a specific drug, right? I think I can duplicate and improve the substance if you can provide me with a sample and a lab area. As far as I can tell it needs much improving." she stated as she walked over to the three. "It's always a pleasure of mine to help out and explore my horizons." she said with her innocent, cheerful smile. "You've all helped me out a lot now, I might as well return the favor."


	4. The Plan

**Phase 4: The Plan**

"You mean you can really do that!" they all said in unison, looking as desperate as ever.

"That's just the problem though, we have no clue where to get you a lab or a sample..." Orga murmured.

"I think I have half of what we need covered..." Crot remarked as he reached into the pocket on his uniform and pulled out a vial. "There's not much, but it's all we have to work with at the moment." Crot explained, handing the sample to Ai.

"You never told us that you stashed away some of that stuff..." Shani grumbled.

"Yeah, but if I would have told you, then you would have probably dranken it all!" Crot retorted. "You'd do anything to get cracked out..."

"Ahem!" Orga interrupted, trying to get their attention. "Damn, you guys are so fucking slow... Anyways, I think we can secure the lab with these! The best part is, that Azrael won't even notice!" Orga then tossed the two of them rifles with silencers. Shani gave a slight grin, while Crot was already busy loading his.

"Now this is a plan I can work with!" Shani remarked.

"We'll just take them out and seize the lab." Orga explained,

"Piece of cake!" The three of them turned around to face Ai.

"Wanna join us?" Orga asked, offering his usual handgun. Ai gave them all a questioning stare but ignored the feeling as their reaction was understandable. She took the vial and placed it in one of her pockets. Though she pushed away the gun she was offered slightly as she shook her head.

"Sorry, but firearms aren't really my style..." she said as she stepped back and went into her pocket. Taking out a small cylinder piece of metal she pressed a button and it expanded into a long metal pole. She twirled it around for a few moments as she jutted it into the ground and looked at them all in satisfaction. "This will do me just fine!" she said smiling cheerfully at them. "But I'm afraid I haven't really practiced in a while..." she said as she leaned onto her pole slightly. Suddenly the door opened up as two soldiers came storming in.

"What the hell's going on in here!" they shouted as they aimed their guns at the pilots, not noticing Ai in the background. Ai saw that the three had not yet finished loading their weapons, so she dashed over to the soldiers and stood between them as they both fell to the floor simultaneously. Her swift maneuvering was her upper hand on any battle field. She turned to face them as she pushed her pole down slightly on one of the soldiers arms as he attempted to reach his gun.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that..." she said as she pushed aside the firearms so they were completely out of reach from the limp soldiers. She then used the tips of her pole to paralyze the two as she stood up straight and leaned the weapon on her shoulder. She smiled cheerfully at the pilots. "So, shall we get going?"

"Holy shit..." Crot murmured, staring at the soldiers on the ground. While Shani and Orga had their mouths open and hanging agape.

"Well, that takes care of that..." Shani remarked, as he finished loading up his weapon. Crot and Orga followed suit. Crot then poked his head out of the door to make sure that they weren't gonna have anymore uninvited visitors.

"All clear!" he exclaimed as he stuck his head back in the door.

"Let's go." Orga stated as he strode out the door. They silently walked down the hallway until they came to the door to the lab, in which they saw several lab workers conducting research and experiments.

"It'll be my pleasure..." Shani muttered, walking through the door.

"Hey, what are you doing here! Get out!" came a shout from inside the lab, followed by several gunshots. Shani sauntered back out.

"The deed is done!" Shani exclaimed, a happy look adorning his face, smoke still rising from the barrel. They slowly walked inside to find every worker dead, blood rushing out from the wounds that had been inflicted by the bullets. The metallic stench of blood filling the lab.

"So, you think that there's enough equipment for you to work with in here?" Orga questioned, looking intently at the youth. Ai immediately went to work, not bothering to answer their questions. It was almost enchanting how fast she went away. 'I've got to get this just right... According to my calculations I can't mess this one up, or else...' she shook her head briefly as she returned to her work, gazing at her current project. Her thought process was an intense one when it came to her work, she could never stand to fail when it meant so much, especially the well being of others. For that is how Ai had lived her life, sacrifice after sacrifice all for the sake of others. A mere child with ideals so farfetched, yet how impossible were they?

Within a few moments she stepped back from the work area and took a deep breath. She nodded in satisfaction as she turned around to face the three, trying to ignore the bloody mess around her. Wiping the sweat from her forehead, she sent them a cheerful smile.

"Done!" she said holding out the new substance she had created. Handing them out to the three she picked up the sample Crot had given her and waved it around in front of herself as she leaned against the desk. "If my calculations are right this much should keep you three in check for about a month or so..." she began as she tilted her head a bit to face them. After which she began to trail off as she continued explaining. "It's quite sad, really. It needed so much improvement. What kind of scientists create such an imperfect product..?" she stopped at a familiar sense. Walking over to the door she pressed her ear against it and listened closely. There was no noise at all... "That's odd..."

The three pilots stared at the substance that had been handed to them.

"O-One month!" Crot managed to choke out.

"Hey, is it even safe?" Orga questioned, swishing the contents around.

"Yeah, you've never even tested it..." Shani remarked, but then decided to shut up when he saw Ai freeze for a split second.

"What now?" Orga whispered.

"Wait a minute..." Shani murmured, pressing his head against the side of the wall. "What the..." Pretty soon, the sounds of footsteps could be heard surrounding the room.

"Get out of there now! Hands up!" hollered a soldier.

"Damn! How the hell did they know!" Orga growled.

"Don't fucking ask me! We gotta get our asses outta here now!" Crot hissed. A devious look crossed their faces.

"They probably have firearms." Shani muttered, loading up his weapon with more bullets. "Ai, just stay back for now, we don't exactly want you getting shot..." Orga and Crot positioned themselves by the door.

"Ready..." they said in unison. Shani gave a slight nod as Crot undid the locking function on the door. As the door slid open, they were barraged with a shower of bullets.

"Hurry!" Orga called, taking out several soldiers with a couple rounds from the rifle. Shani and Crot managed to kill several more, until their reinforcements came.

"There's too many of them!" Crot shouted, trying to get his voice to go over the gunshots. The three blasted an opening, making sure that Ai was still okay and proceeding to make a dash down the hall, with shots following them from behind. Several bullets managed to successfully hit their intended target. They found themselves in a safe hallway for the time being. "We need to escape! They want our fucking heads on a silver platter!" Crot remarked, trying to get his point across to the others.

"Oh shit..." Orga murmured, noting the growing red stain on his abdomen.

"I know, same here..." Shani growled, looking spitefully at the gaping wound on his leg, while leaning on the wall for support.

"Let's just get our Gundams now!" Orga suggested. "No telling how long we're gonna last like this!"

"Anyways, it looks like Azrael isn't about to give us any other choice" Shani commented.

"What do you think Ai?" Orga questioned. "Should we stay or would you be okay with getting our asses out of this crappy hell hole?" The three gave Ai questioning looks, for they needed to make their decision soon because they could hear shouts coming from the adjoining hall, those soldiers were getting close.

"There's virtually no security here, and I know for a fact that ZAFT will attack soon. I have an idea to get you out of this mess but I'm not too sure if it will work..." she responded to them, as her eyes showed a look of concern gazing at the wounds. She stopped her observing and walked over to the corner of the hallway as she took out a small black box from her pocket. Glancing slightly around the corner she opened the box and began to punch in a code but stopped just as she was about to finish.

"I hope you guys can still run..." she said bluntly as she turned the corner and threw the box toward the direction of the voices. She then ran over in the direction of the pilots as she ushered them further. "Move it! We have to get out of this area, now!" she shouted as a ticking noise echoed through the halls. Just before the final click she managed to bring everyone through a secured doorway. With a final click the case burst releasing a blinding flash, smokescreen and sleeping powder.

Ai dropped to the ground, leaning against the door as she took a big sigh. She was relieved to see that they had finally made it to the hanger. She stopped her moment of rest as she rushed over to Shani and Orga. Ripping off some of the material from her clothing she began to conceal the wounds.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Yes, I know the weapons Ai has are a bit... excessive but it works, right..? Besides, I don't think anyone would be complaining with wounds like those... Moving on, I know this one ends on a bit of a weird note but that's just because while I was separating the role play into chapters I kind of cropped it out on weird moments. So if you've been paying enough mind to read this far good job, but know you have a lot more readin to do. I plan to put up two chapters a day depending on how fast I read through them. There's currently around 30 done so far, so you should get my point by now! 


	5. A Promise

**Phase 5: A Promise**

"I'm sorry about all of this..." she said as she sealed the wounds up tightly. "If my little black box was successful then all of those soldiers should be sleeping soundly right about now. It won't last long but it's just enough to play it off as a misunderstanding." Her gaze shifted around the hanger as she beheld the sight of their mobiles. "ZAFT will be here any minute now. When they come I want you all to do what you've been doing and engage them in combat. The battle will distract everyone's attention just long enough for me to escape." she turned to face them with one last sincere smile. "Promise we'll meet again, 'kay?" The way in which she spoke was the first time in which her true personality shone through. The child, not the tool...

"Sure, I promise..." Shani replied, giving her a tried and true look, an expression he had long stopped using while he was back in prison.

"It's a promise we'll keep." Orga added, showing a little more emotion than he would have liked.

"Don't worry about us, you just worry about staying safe, now get going before you get killed!" Crot ushered. The three dashed up the supports that gave them access to their cockpits.

"Launch now!" Orga shouted, moving Calamity forward as all of the wires charging the massive Gundam came loose.

"Shit, the launch gate's not open!" Crot growled.

"Well, then we'll just make our own god damned opening!" Shani remarked, swinging the scythe and knocking the gate off of it's hinges. One by one, the Gundams flew out of the hangar, ready to engage the enemy, but having to leave Ai still in the chaotic scene.

Ai stood there for a few moments after they had all launched. 'I'm grateful...' she thought as she slowly turned to the doorway. She stopped as she waited for something to happen. Just then the alarms went off as it was announced that ZAFT had returned. The loud noise of soldiers scrambling to their posts could be heard everywhere. 'Now's my chance...' she thought as she burst through the doors and wove her way through the soldiers. Finally, she made it to the complete opposite end of the base, where she now stood alone in the hall in front of a secret area. Entering into the room, she was not too surprised to find that it was completely empty. She looked up at the colossal object shadowing the hanger-like area. A smirk appeared across her face.

"There you are..." she said schemingly as she walked over to it's side. "Let's get going, my friend..." Placing a hand atop it's surface the cockpit opened, as if by the mere sound of her voice. She slowly made her way inside as she strapped herself in. Entering in a few codes to bypass the security she finally got the system up and running. "Now then, let's get out of here!" she shouted as the cockpit closed and the heavy clothes that concealed the mobile parted. Her creation was complete, as she finally launched into the battlefield, bursting through the hanger doors.

"Luck's with me... but still..." she said to herself as she found the battle occurring much farther from her location. The area she had found herself in was completely deserted, it was sheer luck that they had decided to construct her Gundam in the back doorway. Maneuvering it ever so carefully she began to make her way further from the base until her vision began to blur slightly.

"Argh... What in the..?" she let go of the controls and held her head as everything became a dazed illusion to her eyes. The world caved in on her mind as everything suddenly turned black. The systems shut down along with her, for they had not been fully completed. And so, Ai now lay there in the cockpit of her creation, unconscious to the world and war around her...

"This is Athrun Zala of the Creuset Team, launching Aegis!" came a voice from inside the cockpit of a Gundam.

"You're clear for launch!" exclaimed the operator. A red Gundam shot out of the warship, scanning the area for any sign of the Earth Alliance. Soon, three other Gundams followed it out of the launch path.

"Shall we go now Athrun?" questioned a young boy piloting a black Gundam.

"The hell with it! Strike's not even here!" complained the silver haired pilot of a Grey Gundam.

"Calm down, or you'll explode before your Gundam does..." commented a blonde who piloted a beige Gundam.

"Just move out. Make sure that they don't get too close to the ship, understand?" Athrun explained.

"Whatever, it's not that damned Strike, but it'll do." groaned the silver haired pilot.

"Sheesh Yzak, you're one freakin hot head..." commented the blonde pilot.

"It's not that bad is it, Dearka?" Yzak questioned, giving him a pestered look on the monitor. Athrun gave an annoyed sigh.

"We're here to engage the enemy, not talk like there's no tomorrow...I'm sure that I can count on you right Nicol?" Athrun asked, feeling hopeful that someone on his squad wasn't an arrogant loud mouth.

"Don't worry Athrun, I'll have you covered. Anyway, if things get bad, I have the Mirage Colloid!" Nicol happily explained. Athrun gave a small smile.

"Let's get out there before all the others have eliminated the enemy." Athrun stated, watching as the other flew off, but he stayed back for some reason as something caught his eye. "What's this?" he muttered to himself, flying in for a closer view as he found a new unit he had never seen before. "What on earth?" he murmured. "I'd better bring this in..." He changed Aegis into it's mobile armor form and grasped the lifeless Gundam and hauled it back to the ship.

* * *

Meanwhile, Shani, Crot and Orga were trying to fend back the enemy.

"They just keep coming and coming..." Orga muttered, trying to shoot down DINNs with the energy cannon equipped to Calamity.

"Why don't they just give up?" Crot grumbled, bashing a couple GINNs down with his Raider's spherical breaker. Shani was bashing whatever he could with Forbidden's heavy scythe. He gave a quiet sigh, still wondering about what had become of Ai. Suddenly, they were given orders to retreat.

"What? Why?" Shani murmured, still wondering about the abrupt retreat. A transmission was sent to their monitors.

"I'd like to have a chat with you boys... it seems that something's gone quite...wrong." Azrael stated, sounding quite agitated.

Ai was still locked within her darkness, unable to notice anything going on around her. She was dreaming and thinking of a great many things in her mind, that of which was meant for the likes of childish whims. 'Why am I this way..? How is it that no matter what I do, nothing ever changes..? Am I to blame... for everything..?'

* * *

**--flashback--**

"I-Its so big!" said the child in pure amazement as she rushed over to the edge of the railing and peeked through the poles. Her eyes sparkled with joy at the sight of the giant machine. The man walked over to her side and smiled down at her as he placed his hand atop her head once more. Leaning down to her level he turned her head slightly to face him.

"Yes, they are, aren't they? And they were all made by us. And you know what?" he said, taunting the child a bit so as to keep her attention. Her eyes widened even more as she leaned forward at his question.

"What!" she asked anxiously as her excitement was starting to wear her down.

"There's still one spot left. That spot's for you, Ai." he said as he looked deeply into her eyes. Her mouth nearly dropped to the floor at his comment as she cheerfully burst into joy. Running around the area as she held out her arms all with her cheerful smile. Finally she ran into her father's embrace.

"Daddy... I'll make you proud!"

**--end flashback--**

* * *

Athrun had flown back into the hangar, with the new unit he had just retrieved. He had never seen anything quite like it before, not to mention that the data for this specific unit wasn't in his database either... He climbed out of Aeigis using the extension rope and approached the new unit.

"Just what are you?" he murmured walking up to the new unit. It was then that the ZAFT Forces began returning, with Dearka, Yzak and Nicol leading the way.

"Hey, what's that?" Yzak yelled, getting out of his Duel Assault Shroud in the process.

"Looks freaky..." Dearka commented, getting out of Buster.

"Where'd you get it Athrun?" questioned Nicol. Athrun turned to face his teammates.

"I don't know what it is, I just found it out there...Hey, why are you back so fast?" Athrun remarked, noticing that the battle hadn't taken very long at all.

"It was strange... they just, well, they just retreated during the middle of battle... so we just did the same, we don't really know why they did it." Dearka explained.

"Let's go check out that unit you found!" Yzak commented, walking over to it and climbing on top of it.

"Yzak...you might wanna be careful..." Athrun warned.

"Don't worry, I'm not gonna die by touching it am I?" Yzak smugly replied. Athrun decided that he did want to get a look at the new machine and began climbing onto the mech, with the others following suit.

"Woah, this is so...I've never seen anything like it before..." Nicol murmured, staring at all of the armaments that this unit has.

"Where's this thing's cockpit?" Yzak muttered, scanning the surface area of the mech for one.

"Why Yzak? So eager to trade Duel in for it?" Dearka joked.

"No! I just wanna know! That's all!" Yzak retorted in an angry tone.

"Hey, I think I found it." Athrun remarked. The others rushed to join him as the cockpit opened to reveal a young girl sitting in the pilot's seat.

"Wh-What!" Dearka sputtered, surprised by this new development.

* * *

**Author's Note:** The appearance of the ZAFT team, how much fun I had with this; though Tanya was in a bit of a writer's spat because she now had to act out as them and the Druggies... Anyway, yeah I decided to use rulers between the different factions and my character so as not to lose too many readers with it's messy composition. What can I say, working with a role play is no walk in the park, but it's been good, right? I mean if no one really likes it then I see no reason in me editing up to Phase 40, or however far we managed to get it to. Yes, some of these chapters are pretty long but you can blame me for that and my horrible judgement in cropping chapters. So yes, reviews are welcome. 


	6. The Stowaway

**Phase 6: The Stowaway **

"It's a girl! What is she doing in that thing!" Yzak questioned. "She's so young... you think she's a coordinator?"

"I don't know...what is she even doing inside one of these..?" Athrun muttered, not knowing what to do in this situation.

"Let's take her in...she doesn't look too well..." Nicol commented.

"Alright, no one tells Creuset about this, got it?" Athrun stated.

"Yeah, we won't." replied all three of them, following Athrun as he carried her into sick bay.

* * *

The Forbidden, Calamity and Raider docked in the hangar. Shani, Orga and Crot all quickly climbed out of their Gundams and ran over to the bridge thinking that he had caught Ai trying to escape. They burst into the bridge, finding Azrael standing there. 

"What do you want?" Shani muttered, giving Azrael a glare, while the others gave him looks of irritation.

"Hm, I was just informed that the girl had just escaped, and she had taken the unit with her..." Azrael informed. All three of them gave a quiet sigh of relief, knowing that Ai had managed to escape. "I just wanted to questioned if the three of you had anything to do with this..." Azrael interrogated, trying to get an answer from the three. They had to think up something fast, knowing Azrael, the wrong answer could end up in more punishment. Crot then stepped forward.

"It turns out that she was a spy." he lied. "She was just some coordinator scum from ZAFT..."

"I see, don't let this happen again..." Azrael stated. "You may all go now." The three silently left the bridge.

"Where do you think she is?" Orga whispered.

"I don't know, let's just hope that nothing bad happens to her, we can't do anything for the time being..." Shani muttered.

"Well, what if ZAFT got her?" Crot questioned.

"Nah, she probably fell into one of those islands..." Orga replied. The three strode back to their quarters, doing their usual activities. Shani was still thinking about Ai, although he tried to keep his mind on the blaring music, he found that his thoughts just seemed to wander back to her. Orga couldn't focus on reading at all, the words just seem to jumble themselves together, every time he thought of Ai. Crot was having a hard time doing anything at all with his handheld, for every time he thought of Ai, he lost his concentration. The three gave in inward sigh, for with Azreal around, they weren't so sure about that promise anymore.

* * *

Ai had finally regained her peace of mind, though she was still too tired to open her eyes. Her breathing slowly became normal as she took the time to rest, though she did not quite know where she was. 'As long as I'm alive... and as long as they're all okay...' she thought as she was finally rested enough. She began to stir as she heard voices around her. 

Slowly opening her eyes, the light blinded her some as she shielded herself from it. Once her vision settled, she noticed that her surroundings had drastically changed. She sprung up from the bed and glanced around a bit panicked from all of it happening so fast. She stopped as she noticed she was not alone then tried to calm herself as she turned her head away. 'Where am I..?' she thought, trying her hardest to piece everything together.

Athrun had noticed some movement from the girl that they had found and walked over to her side.

"Glad to see that you're awake, are you alright?" Athrun gently whispered. Everyone else noticed this and crowded around Athrun, trying to get a better look at the girl. Yzak had noticed that some of the sick bay workers were watching the scenario and sent them a glare. They immediately turned around and got back to their duties. Everyone wanted to ask her questions, but they didn't want to wear her out, considering the circumstances in which they found her, so they just held back and decided to let Athrun do the talking for the time being.

Ai wasn't one to speak up to people who just suddenly appeared into her life. Normally she wasn't one to utter a word for long periods of time. The longest she could remember was at least three months, but that was another story... She shook the feeling, seeing as how speaking up at just the right times had gotten her this far.

"Wh... Where am I..?" she asked softly. Looking around she had noticed that they had all crowded around her side. It was no surprise to her. She could tell what kind of questions they wanted to ask her. The only problem she had was if they knew about her machine and if they did, where was it?

"You're currently residing on a ZAFT warship known as the Versalius, Athrun found you out there in the battlefield, unconscious." Yzak explained.

"We're the Creuset team." added Dearka.

"So, tell us, how did you end up out there?" Nicol questioned, wanting to know how a young girl managed to get herself into a mobile suit in the first place.

"You know, it's not everyday we find someone lying out there, you got really lucky." Athrun remarked, giving her a friendly stare. Everyone was expecting some kind of answer from this new person as they waited patiently for he, not wanting to stress her out.

"ZAFT..?" she questioned to herself softly. She looked up at them, seeing as they meant no harm. "I... I was trying to get away..." she said, as she tried hard to remember just exactly what happened. Looking around again, it finally occurred to her what she was missing. "Where's-..." she stopped herself, as she didn't quite want to be asked such an awkward question.

"Uh... I'm... Aiorem Heiwa... Or just Ai is fine..." she said to them, as she attempted to give them a small smile. She figured she might as well get to know them. She had no place in ZAFT or the Earth Alliance, her only goal was to find a way to end it all. Her simple belief was all she could live on now, as she had no more places to go to.

"Pleasure to meet you Ai, my name is Nicol Amalfi," Nicol replied.

"The name's Dearka Elsman and that hot head over there is Yzak Joule..." Dearka remarked, earning himself yet another glare from Yzak.

"And my name is Athrun Zala." Athrun added. "So, why don't you answer the question that I'm pretty sure all four of us want answered; What is that machine and why on earth was a little girl like you in it?" Silence engulfed the room as the pilots eagerly awaited her answer.

Ai moved away from them a bit as a she panicked somewhat. She did not want to hear those words so badly yet she knew that they would be asked. As long as she tried to resist it, they would keep asking no matter what. It was something that she had always had to deal with whenever her creations were discovered. Yet never before had she ever been able to complete one so utterly obvious. She gave into the question, not knowing what would happen.

"It's... mine..." she said quietly, not wanting them to know but saying it anyway. Her eyes turned black, though she was far from caring what color they were anymore. It was all the same to her now.

Meanwhile, in the bridge, Creuset happened to have just been informed by another soldier about the new machine in the hangar...

* * *

**Author's Note:** Yay! More character interaction! Oh yeah... So I hope you guys find the rulers helpful to some extent, if not then I'm sorry! Poor Druggies, they miss Ai so much and don't know why. Oh the pure irony that I love to add to this. Trust me, it gets better after the characters know each other better, I think my favorite parts are in Phase 10 and up but the first couple help with getting to know some of the characters; or at least how we plan to potray them. 


	7. The Young Ensign

**Phase 7: The Young Ensign **

"I-It's yours!" Yzak sputtered, nearly falling down in shock.

"So that must mean that you're a pilot." Dearka concluded.

"Oh, now this is interesting..." Nicol commented, intrigued by the girl. Athrun gave her an odd stare.

"So that means you're with the Alliance?" he questioned. Everyone hushed when they heard Athrun utter those words.

"But then, how did she even make that thing? Wouldn't you have to be a coordinator to do that?" Yzak asked, not quite understanding the concept.

"I'm not with the Alliance, or anything for that matter... I just like to design them, is all. I just happened to find them constructing it and didn't want them to take it away. So I took it back..." she answered to them, not knowing if what she was telling them was exactly the right thing to do.

"I wasn't just taking it back because it was stolen..." she began as she looked up at them all. "I don't want to bring it into this war..." her eyes shifted as her speech became a bit more relaxed. "I'm not a coordinator, but I suppose you can't exactly call me a normal natural either. I guess I'm not much of a pilot yet, either..." she joked to herself as a smile grew on her face. "I guess you four must be good pilots. I've met quite a few so far, but you all seem different from them." she said cheerfully, though it felt as if she was trying to change the topic.

"Different? I don't see how we're different! We're all people aren't we?" Dearka chuckled. Athrun turned his head, hearing some kind of commotion coming from the hangar. Quickly realizing he had left Ai's machine there, Athrun rushed back to the hangar, with Yzak and Dearka right behind him, leaving Nicol alone in the room with Ai.

"Oh those guys..." Nicol muttered with a sigh. "I understand where you're coming from with all this, but you have to be more careful next time. Losing your life at such a young can be sad really." He gave Ai a happy smile, glad that there as someone almost his age with him. all of the crew was older than him and sometimes it just got a bit annoying.

* * *

Meanwhile in the hangar, Athrun, Dearka and Yzak were trying to sort out the problem about Ai's new machine. Until he saw that Creuset had also reached the scene.

"Please commander, I'm sure it'll do us some good!" Athrun pleaded, trying to keep the commander from trashing it.

"And this new girl had better be willing to pilot it, we're going to strike again very soon..." Creuset stated.

"Yes sir..." Athrun muttered, beginning the trudge back to sick bay, along with Dearka and Yzak, hoping that Ai wouldn't freak at the explanation...

"It's not that I want to lose my life, or even risk it..." she said as she wrapped her arms around her legs and rested her head on her shoulders. "More that I want to do my part peacefully..." she turned her gaze to him.

* * *

"Nicol... how old are you..? And why did you join in all of this?" she asked, a bit curious as for an answer. She never really understood much behind anyone's reasons for joining the military. It was all due to what had happened to her family. Being forced into a war without fail.

"Heh, I'm the youngest one on this vessel at fifteen, well, except for you, and as for the reason I joined this war? Well, I would've rather been composing music!" he chuckled, turning to see if Ai was listening. "It hasn't been easy though, there's been plenty of casualties..."

All of a sudden, Athrun, Yzak and Deaka entered the room.

"We have a slight problem..." Athrun began. "It seems that Creuset wants you to pilot that thing..."

"If you don't then he says you're of no use to us and that we should just get rid of you..." Dearka added, slightly shuddering.

"He wants you to take part in the attack on the Atlantic Federation that we've got going in about a couple days!" Yzak explained.

"Oh no...what are we going to do? Do we even have a choice?" Nicol questioned. Athrun came over to Ai's side.

"My apologies for all of this trouble..." he muttered, slightly hanging his head. The other just gave her looks of pity, for having dragged her into this war.

Ai looked around at them all after hearing their grave news. She moved her hand over to Athrun and took gentle hold of his as she smiled. Her gaze was soft and heartfelt.

"Don't apologize..." she said to them as she smiled weakly. "I knew it would have to happen... sooner or later..." her glance shifted somewhat, as her fatigue was beginning to weigh in on her condition. "If I must then... I must... I can't change that." she added as she let go of him and curled up a bit.

_Sacrifice after sacrifice..._

"Well, then you might wanna get some rest, tomorrow's gonna be the day when we do all of the preparations, and I'm pretty much thinking that Creuset wants you to help out as much as you can..." Yzak remarked. Athrun looked at her; he had expected her to be yelling at him or something, but not doing something, well, so compassionate.

"Don't worry, we won't let anything bad come of you..." Athrun promised, earning him nods from the others.

"Hey, why don't we update that Gundam while we're at it? It looked a bit unfinished to me, not to mention that it'll give you a better edge in battle." Dearka commented. Nicol gave her a hopeful look suggesting that maybe things might turn out better for tomorrow.

"If you need anything, just ask for one of us, okay?" Nicol remarked, giving her another smile.

"Let her rest now...otherwise we'll be talking all night." Dearka stated, starting to leave the room.

"Alright." replied the others in unison, who then walked out of the room, well except for someone who had hung back...

"You said you were with the Alliance for a awhile right? Then, have you seen a person named Kira Yamato by any chance?" came a soft voice from beside her bed. It turned out that Athrun had stayed behind and gave Ai a hopeful look as he asked that question.

"No... I'm sorry, I haven't..." she answered, a bit regretfully. The tone of his voice hinted to her that this person was more than just an acquaintance to him. 'That name sounds so familiar...' she thought for a split second but then turned her attention back to Athrun. "Thank you..." she said as a tear rolled down her face from the corner of her eye. She then buried her head beneath her arms as she closed her eyes.

'Crot... Orga... Shani... Will we have to meet again on the battlefield..?' she thought to herself as she slipped from her huddled position and stretched out on the bed. 'I don't want them all to fight... Not against one another...' were the final words in her mind as she slipped into her sleep, not knowing what awaited her when she awoke.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Aw... A whole Phase without any Druggies whatsoever, so I thought I might as well let Ai mention them just to put it out there that those three are still in the story! Yeah... I've been liking to add comments to the end now, seeing as most of you viewers out there don't like to do anything but view... But just to put it out there, comments are very much welcomed! 


	8. Preparing for Battle

**Phase 8: Preparing for Battle**

The next morning, Yzak was up first, so he decided to go check up on Ai. He then turned on the light switch, flooding the room with florescent light.

"Rise and shine." he whispered. "The others will be up soon, and I thought you would like to get something to eat before the mess hall gets packed with soldiers complaining about naturals..." He then walked over and sat down on one of chairs next to the bed, waiting for her reply and for the others to get up.

Shani, Orga and Crot were still sleeping in their quarters until light flooded their room, making the three retreat into their covers.

"Ungh...twelve more hours..." Orga moaned from underneath the covers. A cadet, who had been the one to turn on the lights shook his head in frustration.

"I'm sorry, but we must make preparations for the next attack!" he stated.

"Well, go to hell!" Shani growled, pulling out a gun from underneath his covers and shooting blindly trying to hit the cadet.

"Gah! No need to hurry though! Best be on my way!" he yelped glad that none of the bullets had been able to find their intended target and dashing out of the room in a rush.

"You sleep with a gun?" Crot questioned.

"Yeah, what about it?" Shani muttered.

"You know, that's handy, I might try that..." Crot murmured.

"Just remember to set the safety on when you're sleeping, unless you want to wake up with a bloody hole in your head..." Orga chuckled.

"Oh shut the fuck up!" Crot retorted. Slowly the three got out of their beds, wincing slightly as their feet touched the cold metal floor.

"Someone needs to get some god damned carpet for this warship!" Shani complained, abruptly hopping back onto his bed after a couple seconds on the floor.

"Well, we're gonna have to move sooner or later... Damned ZAFT freaks, never giving us a break..." Orga remarked, proceeding to get into his uniform. The thought of one battle after another was just stressing enough in every way, that along with wondering about Ai's whereabouts...

* * *

Ai moaned slightly at the sudden flash of light. She had been awake for a while now but was just waiting for someone to come, though the light wasn't much of a pleasant surprise. She rose from beneath the covers with a blank gaze and a tired look as she stretched out with a small yawn. It took her mere moments to finally rid herself of the sleep.

"Oh, thanks." she said cheerfully from the bed. 'I wonder where the others are?' she thought as she stopped and turned her head to the doorway as she saw it suddenly open.

Athrun, Nicol and Dearka came waltzing in, already in their uniform and ready for the day.

"So, are you feeling any better?" Nicol asked.

"I hope you don't mind, but the food on this ship tastes worse than my cooking..." Dearka commented. Athrun gave him a funny look, then returned his gaze to Ai.

"Come on, we have a lot to do today." Athrun stated.

"Otherwise, Creuset will be on you like and angry dog!" Dearka chuckled. At that moment, Creuset walked in causing Dearka to abruptly shut himself up.

"Well, I see our 'guest' has woken up..." he stated. "I have high hopes for you..." with a few more glances around the room, he strode out as fast as he came.

"Nice going Dearka..." Yzak commented.

"Come on Ai, this place must be getting boring for you, I know that I wouldn't like to be stuck in sick bay!" Nicol remarked, offering Ai an extended hand.

Ai nodded and took hold of his hand. She eased herself out of the bed and made it to the floor as she happily glanced at them all. It was as if she hadn't paid any mind to the fact that she was soon to be engaged in this war. Walking out the door by their side, she tried not to be seen by the other soldiers. Mainly due to the fact that she was a Natural in a place full of Coordinators.

'What are they staring at!' she thought to herself as she struggle to not keep contact with any of the other soldiers. She looked up at the four of them, as her pace lagged behind them. She was hoping that they would be able to get to the hanger before the feeling overcame her thought process. Athrun noticed the stares they were getting from the other soldiers and gave them a glare that said 'Back off!' Nicol noticed that Ai was lagging behind a bit and gave her hand a slight tug.

"Don't worry about them." he whispered. "Just keep moving." They quickly made their way through the crowded halls, until they came to the hangar.

"How's about I go get you some food, while you can hang out here with the others, you could maybe help them in upgrading your machine..." Yzak stated, before walking off.

"Let's get started!" Dearka exclaimed, already grabbing some tools and equipment.

"So, how did you manage to come up with an idea for this thing in the first place?" Nicol questioned, looking up at the massive mech.

"I find it quite amazing that a youth such as you were able to develop something this amazing!" Athrun remarked.

"Oh, it was nothing really... I normally like to model most of them after others I've seen but this one was different." she began as she walked over to the Gundam and leaned beside it. "His name is Cerberus, for he fights with the strength of three and is impervious to the flames. You can try and take the guardian from his post, but he will resist till his last breath..." she looked up at it and smiled as she admired how her work had turned out.

"My father used to tell me about how if you tried enough you could bring a myth to life, and so even after the military came and took them all away I continued my search..." she stopped and looked around the hanger. "Besides, I never really did like going by the book." she finished as she began to go through her pocket and took out the blue prints to her Gundam. "I guess they finished more of it than I thought." she said to herself as she scanned through the paper.

"Well all that means is that we're just gonna make it better than what you originally planned!" Dearka exclaimed, wanting to get started on remodeling and upgrading.

"Calm down, we do have all day, it's not like we're going anywhere..."Athrun commented, throwing a wrench at the overenthusiastic pilot. Dearka caught the thrown object effortlessly.

"Aw, don't be sour about it..." Dearka muttered, climbing back on top of the unit. Nicol was working on charging up the Gundam so that it wouldn't drain out during the middle of battle again, checking every few seconds to make sure that the process was running smoothly. Yzak came walking in carrying a tray of food.

"Hey! I wanted to help with the upgrades!" he yelled, trying to get their attention.

"Well, you might wanna get started..." Dearka remarked. It was turning out to be a busy day indeed, fast paced and full of labor.

* * *

Shani, Crot and Orga were working on their Gundams.

"So, you think Ai's still out there?" Orga asked, still reloading all of the weapons on Calamity.

"I dunno...she could be long gone for all we know..." Crot muttered, charging up Raider and working on upgrading the OS. Shani was lost in thought, as he was trying to finish up all of the adjustments to the Panzer Deflection System, with music blasting in his ear, he was basically oblivious once more. As all of them, tried not to get too stressed out before the coming battle just over the horizon.

Ai laughed a bit at their eagerness to work with her Gundam. She set the blue prints down and walked over to her machine. Opening up the cockpit she began to adjust a few systems so that they'd run more smoothly to the way in which she liked to operate.

"Thanks a lot for the help." she said to them all, as her gaze was locked onto her system. 'Hm... It looks like it's all set by now.' she thought as she continued configuring the systems. She had never really worked with an actual Gundam before but she learned fast. It was that ability of hers that was so rare to find in anyone her age being the Natural that she was.

'I hope those three are all right...' she thought as her fast paced motions stopped for a brief moment. 'There's no doubt now in my mind that we'll meet again... I just wish it wasn't in the way that I know it will be...'

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Cerberus, yeah, that's it name, Cerberus... No clue why I chose to pick that as it's name and to have it's form all LaGoweish, or maybe even like Gaia but yeah... I've been watching too much ZOIDs, can you tell? I guess you can look at Ai's unit like that, just some ZOID stuck in a Gundam episode or something. As for the armaments, don't get me started I'm no good when it comes to Gundam tech! I bet you can guess what happens next... It may seem predictable but trust me, you never saw this coming! 


	9. Surprise Assault

**Phase 9: Surprise Assault**

As the three were working on their Gundams, they did not notice as someone else stepped into the hangar.

"Oh boys." came an all too familiar voice. Immediately, two of the pilots turned to stare at their unexpected visitor.

"Psst...Shani, music!" Orga hissed, trying to get his attention.

"Huh? Oh right!" he remarked, tugging off the earphones. "My bad..." he murmured. Azrael gazed up at them from below.

"I just wanted to inform you of something... I know that attack's not planned until tomorrow, but I think, if we can attack today, we can gain the upper hand in this..." he sneered.

"Hm, so we're gonna go ahead and attack?" Orga questioned.

"Yes, all the other soldiers are already getting suited up, now go! I don't want any more mistakes, I've just about had it with those..." he stated, walking off once again.

"You heard him...let's go." Crot mumbled, getting up from his current position.

"Heh, this'll be too easy if we attack early, I don't see the point, what's the fun of that?" Shani grumbled.

"Oh shut up and come on!" Orga remarked.

* * *

Athrun, Yzak, Nicol and Dearka had just about finished the repairs on all of their Gundams, when a sudden alarm rang out.

"What the..." Athrun murmured.

"We have a surprise attack by the Earth Alliance!" hollered a cadet. "Everyone, get suited up and head out immediately!"

"Damn! Those freaks, that attack wasn't supposed to be until tomorrow!" Yzak growled.

"Looks like this is it!" Dearka remarked.

"Why?" Nicol muttered, to no one in particular.

"Come on Ai! We need you!" Athrun stated, waiting for her an the others to follow and get suited up as soon as possible.

"Okay..." Ai replied a bit hesitantly as she followed behind them. 'So this is it...' she thought to herself. 'I'm finally going off to battle, but at what cost?' she looked back at her Gundam as the images of her newfound friends flashed in her mind. She shook it off and continued on her way to get suited up. In her mind she knew she couldn't hold back but still.

Orga, Shani and Crot had already managed to get suited up and were already launched.

"Get their main units!" Orga commanded.

"Fine, just don't get your ass shot down." Shani remarked.

"Why don't we just maul some stuff in the meantime?" Crot suggested. "Anyways, they're taking way too long..."

"I'm already on it..." Shani remarked, managing to demolish some freights.

"Nice...Just keep an eye out for any Gundams; see one, take it down! Don't mind the GINNS and DINNs, I'm sure the Daggers can take care of that." Orga explained.

"Got it, now let's end this, I'm not in the mood for a long battle..." Crot mumbled.

Athrun, Nicol, Dearka and Yzak had already finished getting suited up, and helped Ai, to get into the suit.

"Come on! Let's go before we're done for!" Dearka commented. Nicol managed to grab onto Ai's hand and lead her into the hangar.

"Just follow behind us when we launch, and be careful!" he instructed, before running off to get into his Blitz Gundam.

"Everyone, try to aim for their lead units, alright?" Athrun commanded.

"Sure, whatever..." they replied. Each launching from the hangar and immediately being engaged with the enemy.

Ai was launched onto the battlefield behind the others, she lagged behind them a bit trying not to be spotted. She began to scan the area until she locked onto the area in which the most damage was being taken to. 'They'll all be massacred at this rate...' she thought. 'I've got no choice...'

"All of you watch your backs, those three Gundams will be closing in soon." she stated to them as she fell back a bit. "I'll take care of support." and with that she readied her Gundams secret.

"Cerberus, my friend, let's show them just what we can do on the battlefield!" Ai's Gundam shifted it's form as it emerged in the very form in which she had described to the pilots. The beast had thirteen blades strewn across it's body, ten along it's backside and three up front. 'As long as they don't spot me...' she thought to herself as she struck down some of the enemies units without fail. Her secret was in the fact that she never destroyed the enemy completely but made it so that it was impossible attack.

Athrun and Nicol were taking care of some of the Strike Daggers, while Dearka and Yzak were sinking ships left and right.

"That'll teach you to mess with us!" Yzak growled, having no mercy on any of the Earth Alliance's pilots. Orga and Crot were occupied trying to hold Dearka and Yzak back.

"Get on now!" Crot yelled, shifting Raider to it's mobile armor. Orga moved Calamity onto Raider back and proceeded to shoot at the infiltrating Gundams that were beginning to break by their forces. Shani was in the air scanning for which he should take down first and spotted a mobile armor on all fours.

"Holy shit, now that one's gonna be a problem..." Shani murmured, zooming in on the Gundam and seeing that it had thirteen blades. "That thing's even worse than that LaGowe...but it's mine and I'm taking it down!" He had Forbidden dive into the surrounding waters and got under the mobile armor. "Later..." he muttered, firing a blast from the plasma cannon and resurfacing to see what kind of damage he had managed to inflict on the Gundam.

Athrun noticed what had happened, and shifted Aegis into it's mobile armor form and shot a blast at Forbidden, knocking it out of the air.

"Dammit! You little insect! I'll crush you!" Shani growled between grit teeth and lunged for Aegis with the scythe and hit the red Gundam resulting in a loud clang as metal struck metal.

"Don't you dare hurt any of my teammates!" Nicol remarked, striking Forbidden with the grappling unit mounted onto it's arm.

"Athrun, Nicol... He's mine!" shouted Ai as she emerged from the blast, her Gundam almost completely unharmed. She charged after Forbidden with full force and knocked him aside from the other units. Opening up a connection with the three units she called out to them.

"Forbidden, Calamity, Raider, please respond." she said, trying to shield her voice from the three. Approaching the three units, she readied her blades for an attack. "Stop your attack, please..." she pleaded to them, as she could not hide it any longer. "Or else I will be forced to act on your ambush!"

"Wait a minute..." Shani muttered, getting Forbidden back into position after being knocked around. "Ai? Is that you!"

* * *

**Author's Note:** Ha, I told you it had a twist... So yeah, I'll stop now before I start raving on how much fun we had with this scene and all... Doesn't Ai have the sort of relationship with Cerberus like Bit and the Liger? I never intended it to sound like that but in truth it really does, as much as I try to deny it. But come on, the 13 blades rule! So yes, I don't know what you'd call the next scene that's going to happen but it's got a little special with Ai taking center stage; sort of like what Kira does when he goes all "Why are you still fighting!" on everyone he crosses. 


	10. A Cry for Peace

**Phase 10: A Cry for Peace**

"What!" Crot remarked, turning Raider around to face them, along with knocking a GINN to the side.

"Why are you with them?" Orga questioned, sounding surprised and yet appalled at the same time. Athrun and Nicol hovered over the scene, confused as to what Ai was trying to do.

"Listen Ai, I know you want peace, but those three are labeled as an extreme threat to us! They're dangerous!" Athrun reasoned.

"Ai, get away from them! I don't want you getting hurt!" Nicol pleaded. Yzak and Dearka stopped, and appeared behind Athrun and Nicol. The battle just seemed to stop as everything centered around the eight units hovering around each other, with tensions building.

"Why is that we fight this war?" she asked the seven. "They say it's for peace, honor, freedom... it's all a lie... This war won't end until one side has been completely wiped out, and even then it will still not end. For rebellions will start and the inner battle will begin. Don't you see that this is what spawns it all. It's this hatred that you have toward one another. Towards people in which you don't even know... And yet, you can all strive to protect a simple ideal." she stopped for a momentasher words werea choked a bit.

"I've been stuck in this war from the beginning, whether I liked it or not I knew I would be forced to fight. Sacrifice is the word I lived by, that is until I met you all. I'm grateful for it all, even if these words of mine change nothing..." she smiled as tears rolled down her face. Her Gundam backed away from them somewhat.

"We, the ones who are fighting in this war. We fight to protect, for others it's to survive and sometimes it's the only thing that we know... But I fight not for what others believe in but what I know must be done. I follow with my heart in all situations, even if it's the wrong decision, I still follow it and not let others bend what I truly want. So tell me... This war, is it really worth it? The sacrifice of so many, the lives of those who could have one day been known as your comrades. For the future to cease for all because of some blind intention..?" The words that emerged from within Ai that moment were indeed her own. The words of a child whose meaning could not be any clearer than that very moment, even if they were idealistic...

* * *

**--flashback--**

"Ai, you can never forget this..." he said softly to her as he held the child tightly in his arms. Tears streamed down her face as she refused to move.

"No, daddy! I won't leave!" she protested as he attempted to usher her away to escape. He finally won as he gently pushed her into the craft.

"Ai... always follow your heart for with your voice you can change this world all your own..." he said as he took hold of her hand for the last time. He placed a pendant in the child's hand as they slowly parted between the doors.

"No, please don't go!" she shouted through the doors as she continued to persist. "I don't want to do it alone..."

"As long as you continue on we shall all be with you, Ai..." were the last words she heard as the image of her father vanished in the flash of light.

"Daddy!"

_I pass on this pendant to you... May it protect you with all of the strength of those around you, my daughter... _

_Goodbye,  
Aiorem..._

**--end flashback--**

* * *

The fighting seemed to quell for the time being as the youth preached her words out on the battlefield. All seemed well, until the shouts began to ring out across the battlefield.

"We're not gonna accept these words from a natural!" hollered a GINN pilot.

"She's a traitor! Siding with the coordinators!" yelled a Dagger pilot.

"I say we kill her!" someone suggested.

"Don't you dare!" Athrun interjected, placing Aegis in-between Cerberus and the horde of angry coordinators.

"Get any closer and I'll shoot!" Shani growled, aiming the cannon at the enraged naturals. In an instant, people were attacking from both sides, trying to rid themselves of the pacifist on the battlefield, and with only seven other Gundams trying to hold back, things were getting more and more difficult.

"Leave her alone!" Yzak remarked as he hit several GINNs away. 'My mother's gonna kill me...' he grimly thought as he knocked a couple more away using Duel's beam sword.

"Hmph! Arrogant freaks!" Orga sneered, blasting a couple Daggers in the process.

"We have to find somewhere to retreat! Our Gundams just can't hold out!" Nicol reasoned.

"How about there?" Dearka suggested pointing to a desolate looking island, while kicking some GINNs down.

"This is ridiculous, they just keep coming and coming!" Crot remarked, trying to keep them away using his spherical breaker.

"We might not have a choice pretty soon..." Athrun muttered, checking the energy gauge. "Is anyone else nearly out?"

"Pretty much..." muttered the others.

"Ai, you think we should find shelter or try to hold out? Either way, it's not gonna be easy. We all trust you, at least I'm pretty sure we all do..." Athrun commented, turning to face the three Blue Cosmos pilots with that last part of his comment.

"We trust her no problem!" Shani remarked. "Now go ahead, just tell us what to do."

"All of you please shield your eyes..." she said quietly to them all as her unit emerged from within their protection. Ai activated a slew of missals that released a blinding flash of light just long enough for them all to escape. They made it to the island smoothly thanks to her swift maneuver, though her unit had now lost all but the blades on it's back thanks to it.

"Are you all alright!" she questioned to them, still worried about their well-being far more than her own. "Why did you-... I don't understand why you'd all do this..." she said softly as she left the cockpit of her Gundam and looked up at them all. "I've troubled you all so much..."

"Heh, Azrael was never on our good side anyways." Shani remarked, giving Ai a grim smile.

"I don't really mind, I find it better to help someone you actually care for rather than waste it on senseless fighting." Nicol stated.

"How could we just watch you get pushed around by those other soldiers who oppose your ways?" Athrun questioned, giving her a friendly stare.

"We're not about to let those bastards have their way with you!" Orga exclaimed.

"We'll just shove their face in their pitiful attempt." Crot added.

"It's not easy trying to oppose a war where people feel so strongly about what they put their prosecution in." Dearka stated.

"Which is why we're all here!" Yzak remarked. "We'll make sure that they don't lay a finger on you without a consequence!"

* * *

**Author's Notes:** I decided to use the rulers for the flashback as well in case some people didn't quite understand what my markers were. From time to time I'll put little flashbacks of her past, though it's not all too important with the way the story flows it shows a little about what happened to her. Well, I suppose there are some important flashbacks later on, but that's another story. Anyway, they're all there together now. How interesting, no? The fun's just starting, those pilots have a ways to go... 


	11. An Unlikely Reunion

**Phase 11: An Unlikely Reunion**

Time ticked by as night slowly fell across the tiny island.

"What are we gonna do now?" Dearka questioned.

"I don't wanna sleep on a fucking rock..." Orga remarked, looking disdainfully at the objects that were at their disposal.

"We have to get a fire started, we need some warmth here, and the ocean air isn't doing us much good..." Athrun stated.

"Try rubbing sticks together!" Yzak suggested.

"No, you should try hitting two rocks against each other!" Crot protested.

"Mine will work better!" Yzak sneered.

"Who says!" Crot growled.

"We'll see!" Yzak remarked, grabbing a pile of sticks from nearby and trying to ignite a flame with the two pieces of wood.

"Oh hell no..." Crot muttered, grabbing two rocks and trying to get a spark. Each were glaring daggers at each other trying to light a fire before the other, while Shani just gave a tired look and took a match box out of his pocket and lit it, then throwing it into the pile of sticks.

"You cheated!" Yzak and Crot yelled in unison.

"Hey, the whole point was lighting the fire right? I win..." he sneered, a smirk plastered onto his face.

"Well at least we have a fire. We can stay here for the night..." Athrun commented, giving a slight yawn.

"I'm getting some shut eye, I hope they don't make any hasty moves..." Dearka remarked as he laid down on the sandy beach. Everything was tranquil and serene as the darkness surrounded the island.

Ai smiled happily at how things had managed to turn out. 'They may not come out and say it, but I know they're all friends...' she thought as she walked off from them. She wandered around the island a bit, her hands put together behind her back. Looking up at the sky she took a deep breath and sat down on the sand.

"So odd how fates can change so quickly..." she said to herself as she paid no mind to anything around her. "It seems I've put them all in quite the situation, yet I guess I'm happy..." she continued as she picked up a stone and skipped it across the water's surface. "I'm glad I'm not alone..."

All of the pilots were sound asleep as the last embers of the fire burned out.

* * *

Meanwhile, just a few miles off of the coast, a legged ship was stalled for repairs. A young man was leaning on the railing of the upper deck.

"Ensign Yamato, what are you still doing up?" questioned an older woman who had walked up to him.

"Sorry Captain Murrue I was just up here thinking..." he sheepishly replied.

"Well, just make sure you get enough sleep Kira, we're moving out tomorrow." Murrue stated giving Kira a faint smile. "I know this must be hard for you, but please bear with us..." She then turned to leave and disappeared back into the halls of the Archangel. 'I might just head out for a bit...' he thought, heading towards the hangar.

"Please open the launch gate." Kira requested. "I'll be back soon." The operators activated the launch sequence for Strike. "Thank you." Kira added as Strike was flung out of the Archangel. Hovering above the salty ocean, he spotted an island and decided to go there for a place to think. It was then that he spotted the eight Gundams on the island. 'Gundams?' Kira thought. 'Why here?' He then sped towards the island in Strike hoping to find the answer as to why they were there.

Ai was becoming a bit tired but resisted her urge to sleep as something caught her eye. 'What could it be..?' she thought as she slowly got up from the ground. Climbing on top of a nearby boulder the image soon became more clear as she found it to be a mobile suit. The first thought that crossed her mind was to warn the others, but she decided not to. 'They've been through enough already, the least I can do is take care of this...' Rummaging through her pocket she took out a signal flare and lit it as it shot up into the night sky. She waived her hand with a friendly smile as she called out to the machine.

"Hello!" she shouted cheerfully to them. Any other time she would have mounted onto her Gundam without hesitation but something had held her back. As the mobile approached something about it's design made her freeze for a split second. 'That model... I-I know it...' she thought as the Gundam moved in closer. 'I wonder... could it be the same one..?' she thought to herself as she stepped down from the rock and stood there. She looked back at her Gundam as she sighed. 'I suppose we didn't exactly hide them...' She waited to see what response the pilot would give as she patiently waited, hoping for a peaceful resolve.

Kira noticed the flare shot up from the island. 'So there are people here...' he thought. He landed Strike on the island and descended from the Gundam. He saw a young girl standing there, gazing at him, as if she was trying to anticipate what he would do.

"Um...hi, can I ask you what all these Gundams are doing here?" he asked, gesturing to the giant machines scattered around the island. He then noticed something about one of the units looked familiar. "Th-That's Aegis! But...that would mean...Athrun!" Kira sputtered before dashing off into the dense jungle.

Meanwhile, the sound of something landing on the island woke up a specific blue haired pilot.

"Mmmph..." he muttered, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. he then saw Strike's silhouette against the blackened sky as the dawn was quickly approaching. "Kira!" he yelled out as he dashed in the direction of Strike, waking up several others in the process.

Ai stood there for a few moments. Yet again she had been witness to a rather strange turn of events then left to wait. To say the least, she was tired of it...

"Hey, wait!" she shouted to him as she followed behind. She stopped at the sound of a familiar voice echoing from close by. 'Athrun..?' she thought. 'Then again... that person, they knew which one was Athrun's, but how..?' She tried to piece everything together as usual but stopped as it was just resulting in a headache. At the sound of another approaching from nearby Ai dashed for cover. Hiding behind an object she waited silently for what was about to come. 'Could they possibly know one another..?'

The calling ceased to stop until the two met face to face.

"Kira..." Athrun murmured.

"Athrun..." Kira whispered, both staring straight into the eyes of the other.

"Is it...really you?" Athrun questioned, almost unwilling to believe that this person was standing right in front of him.

"Yes, it's been quite a while hasn't it?" Kira replied.

"It has, but Kira...why...what are you doing here?" Athrun questioned, giving his old friend a look of interrogation.

"I was gonna ask you the same thing..." Kira remarked. None of them noticing the concealed girl in the bushes.

"Listen, I'm sorry about what happened okay? It was just...the situation was..." he whispered.

"Out of your hands?" Kira finished.

"Yeah, you still understand how I feel after all these years..." Athrun remarked.

"I'm glad we get to talk this out." Kira commented, giving Athrun a small smile.

"Heh, me too." he replied. The two friends stood there catching up on good times of the past and explaining themselves about the present...

* * *

Nicol had been out for an early walk along th sand. Until he heard the shouts coming from the side of the island and spotted the Strike.

"The Strike...but why?" Nicol murmured, running towards the cause of his questioning.

"Yzak...what was that noise?" Dearka questioned, yawning a bit.

"I dunno..." he muttered turning around to stretch. "Oh my fucking god!" Yzak hollered, his face turning red.

"Hey buddy, what's wrong?" Dearka questioned, coming to a halt right beside his friend and saw what had set off his friend's temper tantrum. "It's the Strike! Why's it here!" Dearka remarked, nearly choking on the comment.

"Well, I'm gonna find out..." Yzak grumbled, stomping off towards the Strike, stepping on someone in the process...

"Yowch!" Crot interjected, gripping the abused hand. "Damn bastard! Come back here!" he hollered, rushing off after the other pilots.

"Huh? What now?" Shani mumbled, scanning the area. "Hey...where'd everyone go?"

"Even Crot's gone...this is sad..." Orga murmured.

"Wait for us!" they hollered, dashing off in the directions of the footsteps in the sand.

* * *

Ai was quietly listening to the two's conversation. A gentle smile took her face as she glance slightly at them. 'So that's it... They're friends...' she thought, taking a sigh of relief. 'Such a small place war can be...' she thought as she took out her pendant and looked softly into it's reflection. 'I guess you knew that too...' Placing it back beneath her shirt collar Ai stood up from her hidden position. As she was about to leave the two to their conversation she tripped over a vine and fell back out of the bushes and between the two. 'Stupid, stupid, stupid!' she thought to herself as she sighed regretfully and looked up at the two.

"Heh... Sorry to intrude!.." she stammered as sweat dropped from her forehead. 'I'm such and idiot, they probably hate me right about now...' she thought to herself as she dropped her head in defeat.

"Oh Ai!" Athrun gasped. "Are you okay? And by the way, this is Kira, the one who I asked you about earlier."

"Hi, my name's Kira Yamato, nice to meet you...hey, you were that girl from earlier..." Kira remarked, taking a closer look at Ai. "Don't worry about it Ai, it's not like we mind!"

"She's a special one..." Athrun began, whispering something to Kira.

"Oh, I see..." Kira whispered. Nicol, who was first to the scene just stared at the everyone.

"What on earth is going on here?" he asked, more curious than angry. Suddenly, rustling was coming from the bushes, and out fell Yzak and Dearka, crushing poor Nicol in the process.

"Just what's going on!" an angry Yzak demanded, crushing Dearka underneath him.

"Ow..." Dearka muttered. Within moments another rustle was heard.

"When I get my hands on-Gah!" Crot remarked as he tripped and fell, landing right on top of Yzak.

"Hey! What the-Wah!" Shani exclaimed falling on top of Crot, with Orga tumbling right after him. What became of this scenario was a big jumble of grumbling pilots.

Athrun and Kira stood speechless by what had just happened.

"Nice..." Athrun commented.

"Oh my..." Kira remarked.

"Oh, ah! Are you all alright!" she questioned, panicking a bit not as to their well being but rather their tempers. She made her way over to them all as one by one she helped them up to their feet. Smiling the whole time, though on the inside she was completely exhausted. "Uh... Good morning!" she commented cheerfully to them all as she tried to straighten herself out.

"I... I-.. uh-..." just then she began to fall to the ground as her exhaustion took over and her body gave out. Never before had she pushed herself this hard for such a long period of time. For someone her age it could turn out as a bad turn of events. She had started up a fever earlier that night but had ignored it, now her exhaustion had set in which would allow even worse conditions. Her breathing became completely unstable within a short amount of time as she began to struggle for breath.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Wow, strange turn of events, huh? But Kira's here now! Yay for the actual main character who as been completely downsized! Yeah, it's not hard to see who the REAL main characters of this story are, but if you can't tell then well... I'm deeply sorry. I must say though that some of my favorite folly scenes are with Crot and Yzak, they're such a great pair to poke fun with. Their personalities are so fun to twist around in these situations. I mean come on, who didn't love that fire skit? XD 


	12. Truce of Three Truths

**Phase 12: Truce of Three Truths**

"Athrun! Something's wrong with her!" Kira hollered, trying to get his friend's attention.

"What!" everyone remarked, turning to see Ai struggling to breathe.

"Dammit! What are we gonna do!" Orga growled. "We're stuck on a god forsaken island!"

"Oh man...we can't go back to the Versalius either." Yzak muttered. The other ZAFT pilots looked around nodding gloomily.

"I know Azrael will kill us if he knows that we've been hanging out with coordinators..." Shani grumbled.

"Wait! The Archangel! It's nearby! We can take her there, as long as you all are willing to help, that is. I'm sure Miss Murrue won't mind as long as you all mean no harm!" Kira remarked.

"How do we signal it?" Dearka asked.

"I sent out a signal and if that wasn't enough Ai sent out a flare last night. I'm sure they'll be here soon." Kira explained.

"I sure hope so..." Nicol murmured. "Just hang on Ai, help's gonna be here soon..."

Ai struggled her best to open her eyes to see them all. She forced a smile on her face, though tears were flowing from her eyes.

"I-... I'm sorry..." she choked out as she coughed a bit. Her face was becoming a bit flushed as her body became limp. "I-I've been so much trouble... to you all..." Her persistence was what kept her going all this time, that and her hopes for the future. All the while she planned for the future she never once considered the present. Therefore, she never really thought about her own health in the process. All she thought it would do was burden those around her, just as it was now. "Sorry..."

"Dammit Ai! Don't say things like that when you know they're not true!" Shani remarked, his gaze softening somewhat as he saw what had happened to Ai and her in her current condition.

"Yeah, you've never been a burden to us." Dearka added.

"More like some kind of miracle." Yzak finished.

"It's if you're a little saint, trying to steer us away from wrong, we could never call you a burden!" Nicol reasoned.

"Kira, go check if the Archangel is near...Your Strike Gundam is the only one with enough power, and here..." Athrun stated, handing him Ai. "Make sure she gets there, safe and sound, we'll join you shortly once you talk it over with you're captain. By the looks of it, we all don't have a faction in which we all can return..." Athrun gazed around at the pilots, each one of them nodding to show their approval.

"Go Kira, now!" Orga remarked, giving Kira a look that said 'If Ai ain't in one piece, then you're screwed!'

"Alright, you can count on me!" Kira exclaimed, rushing off to get help.

* * *

Meanwhile, the Archangel was trailing the signal that was being sent by Kira's Gundam.

"We're almost there...Huh? It's moving!" A young girl exclaimed, looking at the monitor in front of her.

"Good work Miriallia, I guess Kira must be done thinking by now..." Murrue commented.

"He's moving at a really fast rate, you think something's wrong?" Miriallia questioned.

"Hm, there are other Gundam signals on the island too!" added another teen.

"Are you sure Sai?" Murrue questioned.

"Yeah, they're not active, but they're there." Sai firmly stated. Suddenly a transmission came through from the Strike.

"Open up the gates right now!" Kira demanded. "It's an emergency!"

"Do it now!" Murrue commanded, leaving the bridge and rushing to the hangar to see what the commotion was about.

All the while Ai had tried so hard to keep herself awake. 'I can't give in... not when they've all been so kind to me...' she thought as she struggled to keep her eyes opened.

"K-... Kira..." she said faintly as she held onto him tightly in pain. "I-... I can't..." she stopped her speech as she began to cough again. Her breathing had not settled since her whole breakdown had begun and her attempts at talking weren't helping the matter. "Please... don't leave them..." Kira looked at the determined girl and gave a sigh.

"Worry about yourself first, then we'll come back for them. We're not gonna leave them behind, just relax, they're just as worried about you as I am." Kira reasoned. It was then that Murrue reached the scene.

"Kira, what's wrong?" she questioned, huffing a bit since she had practically sprinted all the way from the bridge. Kira said nothing, but gestured towards the girl in pain lying in his arms. "Ah-.. Get her to sick bay immediately!" She commanded, receiving attention from several staff members aboard the Archangel. "Don't worry Kira, we'll do all that we can..." she reassured. "But I was just curious, what were all of those other units doing down there?"

"Oh!" Kira exclaimed. "Can I please request something?"

"What is it?" Murrue asked, wanting to know what Kira's request was.

"Well, those units, even though they're from different factions...they want to help!" Kira sputtered suddenly.

"What factions?" she asked.

"Um, well, by the looks of it, three of them are from the Atlantic Federation..." he said.

"The one's that have the connections with Blue Cosmos?" she interrogated.

"Yes, and the other four are from...ZAFT." he stated. Murrue gave him a look of contemplation.

"Well, I don't know..." she sighed.

"They can't go back! They have no where else to go!" Kira begged. Murrue saw that Kira wasn't about to let this get him down.

"Alright, but they'd better not cause trouble..." Murrue finished, giving a defeated sigh.

"Thank you!" Kira exclaimed, rushing back into Strike to tell the others. "By the way, please make sure that Ai is alright!" he remarked before launching into the blue skies.

Once Ai was whisked away into the sick bay she finally gave into her body's request. Closing her eyes and finally settling into her surroundings. 'They all want to help me so much...' she thought as she tried to relax a bit. 'Am I... that special..?' she continued to contemplate as she awaited their return.

* * *

**Author's Note:** About the Archangel and it's crew, in all truth we never meant to involve the characters from the Archangel all too much since A.) More work for poor Tanya and B.) Some of the characters aren't too fun to work with, or very cooperative. (Crueset and Azrael were a big enough pain for Tanya, she doesn't really need to govern the entire cast all her own in every post...) So we basically have the story revolving around the pilots and Ai, just because we can. That, and cheating the fates of a few certain cannon fodders. 


	13. Archangel: A Place to Rest

**Phase 13: Archangel: A Place to Rest **

Kira sped back to the others in Strike, wanting to inform them of the good news. The others spotted the Gundam and awaited the news as Kira practically jumped out of Strike.

"Ai's in sick bay right now, but the really good news is that you all can stay!" he exclaimed, happy that things had gone right for once.

"Awesome!" Dearka remarked.

"Heh, I'm sure they have a much better interior being such a high class warship..." Shani muttered, thinking about a nice comfy bed, rather than the shitty stuff they got on board those lower class ships. Everyone was really psyched about the way things have turned out.

"Come on! Let's go!" Yzak remarked, wanting to get off of the desolate and lonely island.

"Alright, we'll all meet by the Archangel." Kira instructed. Everyone dashed off for their Gundams and pretty soon, the Archangel was surrounded by hovering Gundams, wanting to get into the hangar.

"Where's Crot?" Orga asked, noting that Raider was missing.

"Here..." came a voice on the com. system. Everyone turned to see Raider, in mobile armor form, carrying Ai's Cerberus.

"Good, now that everything's set, we just need to get everything into the hangar..." Kira muttered.

When Murrue saw how many Gundams there actually was, she felt a bit overwhelmed. 'I have to deal with all those rambunctious pilots?' she thought.

"Something wrong?" came a voice from beside her.

"Oh Mwu, it's nothing." she murmured.

"Aw, don't be like that! We have a stronger team now!" Mwu exclaimed. "I'm sure they won't be that big of a problem."

"Let's hope so..." she mumbled.

Ai heard the commotion coming from the hanger and thought it was about time that she got out of the area. She was never one for staying put in a place like that, especially when she was alone. Not going at a fast pace but more a stealthy approach she made her way to the hanger but stopped just before the other officials as she hid in the back. The others were just arriving along with her Cerberus.

"That's good..." she said to herself as she admired from afar, hoping she wouldn't be noticed. She accidentally hit something in the background and began to panic as the others had all left their Gundams at the time. 'Oh no! They'll see me for sure...'

"Well hey there, looks like you don't wanna stay put do you?" came a voice from behind her. Mwu had spotted the girl sneaking out of sick bay when he was on his way to check out the pilots. The others were just docking their Gundams and taking care of all of the wiring needed, rushing to get done so they could see Ai. They simultaneously finished, practically dashing out of the hangar.

"You better get back in there before they find out that you tried to get out." Mwu whispered, gently pushing her back into sick bay just as the pilots managed to knock down some of the staff on their little frenzied rush to get to the room.

"You can't go in there! She needs rest!" came another yell from a staff member who got trampled by the stampeding herd of pilots who weren't about to let some nurse push them around. Ai had made it back into the bed by that time, after wiping the sweat from her brow. 'That sure was close...' she thought as she saw them all burst through the door. She sent them an awkward smile as she tried not to laugh, sitting upright in the bed.

"Hello everyone." she said politely, her voice cleared up far better from the last time. She was overjoyed on the inside to see them altogether now; all comrades to one another. It would have brought her to tears if not they had all been standing right in front of her. "I'm glad you're all back." she said as she straightened out her smile and replaced it with her usual cheerful one.

"You're alright!" Nicol exclaimed, nearly crying as the tears shimmered in his eyes.

"I can't believe this!" Dearka remarked. "You're okay!"

After that, everyone just tried to talk at once, creating a big jumble of words and feelings.

"Alright you rowdy pilots, that's enough for now." Mwu stated as he stepped into the room. "She's been through a lot and I'm sure she's pretty much stressed out by now, so if you don't mind, why don't you leave your comments until tomorrow?" he asked. All of the pilots had guilty looks on their faces, but agreed anyways. "So how about we go see your rooms, not to mention that you will be assigned a roommate..." he explained, earning strange looks from all the pilots except Kira. "Well, usually you'd get your own rooms, but since there are so many of you, we're just gonna have to split up the rooms..." he muttered.

"Whatever, as long as Ai's here." Orga muttered. All of the other pilots agreed, slightly wincing at the thought of rooming with some of the members of their little group.

"Let's go." Mwu remarked, slightly waiting as all of the pilots gave Ai a little look of bye before turning and walking off into the halls following Mwu. Ai took a deep breath then fell back into the bed. She stared up blankly at the wall as she sighed. Placing her hand on her head she close her eyes.

"I'm so exhausted..." she said to herself as she turned over in the bed. "I guess I should have known better..." she joked to herself as she closed her eyes and curled up in the covers. "So... tired..." she moaned as everything turned black and she slipped into her sleep.

* * *

"Alright fellas', now we're gonna have to assign you guys rooms, so don't whine about your partner unless you want out!" Mwu instructed.

"Nicol, you're with Shani." The two gave each other a blank stare for a moment before reporting to their assigned room. "Dearka, you're with Orga." he stated. The two gave a sigh before heading off for their quarters. "And Crot and Yzak, you two are gonna share a room." Mwu finished.

"What!" hollered Crot and Yzak. "There's no way I'm gonna spend the night with him!" They glared at each other pointing and growling like animals.

"What about me?" Athrun questioned.

"Oh, you can stay with Kira, that is if he doesn't mind..." Mwu commented.

"Sure." Kira agreed, leading Athrun to his room while the other two stood bickering in the hallway.

"I call top bunk!" Crot sneered, hopping on top of it first.

"Hey! I wanted that one!" Yzak growled.

"Heh, I got to it first, ever heard of first come, first serve?" Crot taunted, getting comfortable in his new bed. Yzak growled once again, thinking that tonight was gonna be a long night indeed.

* * *

Ai had been resting for quite some time now as everyone on the ship had begun to settle down. She opened her eyes slowly and wiped away the sleep as she stood herself up in the bed. Yawning a bit, she stretched out and looked around the room. It seemed that she was all alone again, which she didn't much like. When she was younger she was never paid that much attention to, aside from her various 'projects', and never really understood the feeling until now. 'I wonder where everyone is...' she thought as she got out of the bed and made her way to the door. 'That guy... I better watch what I do this time...' she thought glancing carefully around the area hoping not to be seen this time.

"Wow, what a big place..." she said quietly to herself, hoping not to awaken anyone else. She nearly stumbled to the floor at the sound of something approaching her. "Wha- Ah!" she stammered as she managed to get her bearings on the wall before falling to the ground.Just then a mechanical bird flew around the corner and landed on the ground in front of Ai as it gazed up at her. She gave a sigh of relief and smiled as she knelt down to greet him.

"Hello there, you sure did give me a shock." she joked as she held out her finger for him. "Hey, why don't you come with me for a while? I sure could use the company." The bird hopped onto Ai's finger and worked it's way up to her shoulder as she continued on her way. It was a strange feeling she was having in that place, all of these things seemed so familiar yet somehow she could not figure from where. 'I really do miss the others, though...' she thought as her face dimmed a bit and her smiled disappeared. Just then the bird flew from her shoulder and around another corner. Ai was a bit lost but she would rather have company with her, so she went after the bird...

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Love the roommates. Such beautiful pairings she made, guess you can't guess which one was the favorite among us! (Even though they were all pretty equal...) So now we've got the rooms and the pilots settled and Ai's decided to go and wander the ship, I wonder what will happen..? Okay, so I already know but it's still fun to ask since I loved the turn out of this so much! I never really thought I could get away with turning this into a fanfiction, though it still is a bit troublesome. You see, there are some holes in the story where we discussed what would happen and wrote it down but somehow lost some ideas and continued on from what we remembered, though the gap was never filled. When I get to one of those I'll try my best to fix it, or edit it to the point where you can't notice, both work! 


	14. Friendship of Sorts

**Phase 14: Friendship of Sorts **

"Please come back!" she called out. The bird had wandered into the pilot's area and was making far less noise then the troubled Ai. She stopped chasing the bird as she heard the voices of the others. The bird made it's way into one of the rooms as Ai stood there waiting from something to happen. Birdy landed back on Ai's shoulder, letting her get the full view of the room. Inside the room, a squabble of sorts was occurring...

"You damned rotten bastard!" came a growl. Crot had a very pissed off expression on his face; the reason for that was being held in Yzak's hand...

"Give me your top bunk or else your handheld gets it!" Yzak sneered.

"Give it!" Crot hissed, lunging towards Yzak, knocking him to the ground. Crot grabbed a fistful of Yzak's hair and gave it a hard tug.

"Argh, let go!" Yzak yelped, trying to strangle the other teen. It was then that they noticed the pair of feet standing by the door as they wrestled on the ground. The fighting slowly ceased as the two arguing pilots gave sheepish lookstoward Ai.

"Heh...Ai, what a nice surprise..." Crot stammered.

"We weren't exactly expecting you out of sick bay so soon!" Yzak exclaimed, trying to hide his embarrassment.

"We're so glad you're okay!" Crot added, helping Yzak up and dusting him off from their fight earlier.

"Sorry our room is such a mess." Yzak commented, taking a glance around their trashed room.

"Why don't you go check out that room across the hall from us?" Crot suggested. "It's been awful quiet in there..."

"Anyways, we'll have things straightened out by the time you get back." Yzak added, giving Ai a big smile. Birdy then flew out the open door into the room directly across from them. It flapped it's wings, staying in the air and waiting for Ai to follow.

"Okay..." she answered quietly, not wanting to interfere in whatever it was they were doing. She would have apologized but changed her mind because of the situation. She followed Birdy into the room and smiled happily at the two as both the doors closed behind her. Cupping her hands together she held them out to Birdy. "I suppose they all have to bunk with each other." she began as she sat down on the bed with the bird in her hands. "That might turn out odd!" she laughed as she spread herself across the bed and let the bird down by her side. The bird suddenly took off into the air as it began to fly circles around the ceiling. Ai smiled and got up from the bed.

"I bet you want to see the others too." she said as she walked over to the door and held out her arm. "I do too!" she exclaimed as Birdy gently landed on her arm and hopped onto her shoulder. The door opened and Ai took a few steps out of the room then stopped as the bird fled from her shoulder.

"Not again..." she whined as Birdy ventured into another room, the door closing behind it. "Birdy, come back!" she said rushing over to the room but halting herself just before the door. 'That was close... I can't exactly go waltzing into people's rooms.' she thought as she backed away from the door. She gave a silent sigh of defeat as she leaned up against the wall. "What a day..."

* * *

Inside the room, it was eerily silent, except for the slight noise of Shani's Mp3 player. Nicol was organizing his sheet music on the top bunk while Shani was dozing off in the bottom one, which was when Birdy came flying in and landed on Shani's leg. Shani felt the slight sensation on his leg and glanced at the spot finding a small mechanical bird on it.

"What the...?" Shani murmured. Nicol looked down to see what it was and found the small robot to be adorable.

"It's so cute!" Nicol commented.

"It's getting annoying..." Shani grumbled. Birdy reacted to the comment by hopping up on Shani's head. Shani gave an irritated growl before his temper got the better of him. "I'll rip your fucking head off!" he growled before trying to wrench the mechanical bird from his head, but missed and ended up nearly tugging his hair off.

"Don't kill it, it didn't do anything wrong to you..." Nicol commented.

"Too bad, it's annoying, that's a good enough reason!" Shani sneered, pulling out his favorite handgun and trying to shoot the bird.

"Gah! Don't hurt it!" Nicol pleaded, trying to shield the bird from anymore gunshots. Shani gave an audible sigh.

"It's not even alive!" Shani reasoned.

"What if I tried to kill you huh?" Nicol remarked.

"Well, that's different! I'm human, living!" Shani retorted.

"Nuh uh!" Nicol replied, knocking the gun from Shani's hands.

"Damn..." Shani muttered, before spotting a crowbar lying on the floor, probably left from one of the mechanics repairing the room. Shani grabbed the crowbar and took a swing at the bird, but was halted by Nicol grabbing onto the fabric of his uniform. "Let go of me!" Shani demanded, watching in vain as the bird was getting away.

"I'm not gonna let you!" Nicol exclaimed, keeping a tight grip on the uniform.

"You're too stubborn...looks like you're coming with me..." Shani muttered, trudging forward and dragging the other green haired boy with him.

"Hey! No fair!" whined the younger teen, trying to hold the older teen back to no avail. Shani was in the perfect position to knock Birdy out of the air when Nicol quickly stuck his foot out in front of the other boy, causing him to miss his swing and tumble to the ground slamming his face into the door.

"Ohhh..." Shani moaned, his face still jammed into the door.

"That's what you get for trying to hurt something innocent!" Nicol scolded, not noticing that he was leaning on the older boy. The door suddenly opened, causing the two to sprawl out in the hallway. Shani was about to start screaming in Nicol's face, when he spotted Ai standing in the same hallway, with Nicol noticing at about the exact same time.

"Ai!" they both remarked, thinking that she was still in sick bay. Dearka and Orga popped their heads out of their room to see what all of the commotion was about and saw Ai.

"What are you doing here?" Dearka questioned.

"You should be in sick bay!" Orga finished. Both of them ran over to say more, but they tripped on the other two pilots lying on the ground due to some carelessness. "Ouch...what happened?" Orga questioned, rubbing his head.

"We tripped on them..." Dearka replied, gesturing to the two pilots they were crushing.

"What happened? We heard a noise and-..." Yzak began when he tripped on the growing pile of pilots and toppled over, bringing Crot with him.

"Look what you did!" Crot scolded, sitting on top of the pile of soldiers.

"You're no better!" Yzak replied, practically smothering the people underneath him. Athrun and Kira walked out of their room.

"Not again..." Kira muttered, almost chuckling at the pathetic sight.

"Just what is going on here?" Mwu demanded, suddenly appearing in the hall. 'Oy, these kids are just too much trouble these days...' he thought to himself. Birdy flew back to Kira and landed on his shoulder with several flaps of his metallic wings. Poor Ai had seen the entire incident and had still come out empty on a reply. She couldn't laugh at them, nor could she be angry. After all, this whole scene was a result of her trying to find them, but she never meant any trouble. So she decided to do exactly what she had done the last time and went to help them all to their feet.

"I'm sorry... This is my fault..." she said quietly after helping them all as she turned her head away slightly. 'I can't believe I could cause this much trouble...' she thought. 'It's my fault for not being able to control myself...' Her head dropped with her sad expression as she wallowed back into her room without complaints. "My fault... my fault..." she kept repeating to herself as she was about to enter through the door.

"No it's not!" came a unanimous cry from all of the pilots. "How many times do we have to tell you?" They all dashed after Ai and blocked her way into sick bay. "You're not going anywhere!" they shouted. "Not before we all apologize to you!"

"Come on Ai, just hear us out!" Crot begged.

"We've ended up dragging you into a full blown war!" Shani stated.

"Not to mention even dragged you into battle..." Athrun added.

"The least we could do is say sorry!" Dearka finished.

"Please, stop blaming yourself Ai." Nicol stated.

"We all care for you, now stop trying to get away from it." Yzak remarked. Everyone stared her down, but not with an angry look, it was a look of guilt that asked for forgiveness. Ai nearly fell back as they blocked her path. It was nice to hear them speak of her like that, but it was all a bit overwhelming...

"I-... uh..." she stammered as she fell back into the wall. "Okay...?" she finally agreed with a sigh of defeat and a pathetic stature. "Just please, don't do that again..." she said as she slid to the floor. "Scary..." she said to herself as she tried not to make eye contact with the herd of pilots intently staring her down.

"Is it just me, or did we just get turned down?" Dearka whispered so that only the other pilots could hear him.

"Probably, we do look kinda scary...it's like we're stalking her or something..." Orga added. All of the pilots immediately started to blush at the thought of what they weredoing looked like to Ai.

"Oh man...we look like rapists!" Crot groaned.

"Sheesh, way to put it..." Yzak muttered.

"Let's just leave her be for awhile..." Athrun remarked.

"Ai, sorry about all of that!" Kira remarked.

"We'll be getting a move on now!" Nicol added as everyone nodded.

"You should get some sleep, you're not looking so hot..." Shani commented, giving Ai a small shove into her room.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Well, I don't quite know if I'd be so quick to back away from a herd of pilots staring me down like that, but I suppose in Ai's case it was a bit much. If you've noticed Orga and Dearka haven't been getting too much attention, nor has Kira, but I assure you that there will be some more interaction for them, or at least I hope so... But yeah, Shani doesn't much like the fact of mechanical 


	15. Holding Close

**Phase 15: Holding Close**

"Good night." stated all of the pilots, who all began to walk towards their rooms afterwards. Everyone was asleep, being tired out from the many events. The Archangel had docked near an island for the night and was planning to head out again in the morning. Everything on the ship was dead silent, save for the slight noise of the machines on the legged ship.

Meanwhile in Nicol and Shani's room, rustling could be heard every couple minutes coming from the bottom bunk, although it seemed that Nicol didn't seem to care, for he was out like a rock. Shani was mumbling in his sleep and tossing and turning about, due to the current nightmare he was having...

* * *

**--dream sequence--**

"What the?" he questioned himself, finding that he was in Forbidden's cockpit. "But, this already happened..." he muttered realizing that this was the scenario of when they were fighting the ZAFT Forces, along with Ai. He noticed that he could not control his hand movements, or anything else for that matter...

"What the hell!" he growled. It seemed that the only thing he could do was mutter incoherent things. It was then that he saw Cerberus show up on the monitor. The thing was, his hand was moving towards the plasma cannon activator and the shot was aimed right for the cockpit...

"No! Ai, move!" he tried to holler, but it seemed as if the world could not hear him as his futile attempts at getting his hand away from the controls failed. The next thing he knew, a blast was fired at Cerberus and it hit with full force. He gave a loud scream as the machine fell out of the sky, demolished and burning...

**--end dream sequence--**

* * *

Shani woke up covered in sweat.

"It was all just a dream..." he murmured, rubbing his head. He decided that he didn't want to go back to sleep just yet and went for a walk along the corridors. The halls were deserted and the lights had been dimmed to conserve energy. He found himself wandering the halls as he had always done, but it was then that he noticed he had ended up in front of Ai's room. He then strode in, hoping that he wasn't going wake Ai up. He pulled up a chair and sat himself down as he gavea sigh of relief seeing how the sleeping girl was okay.

"I'm sorry..." he whispered before dozing of in the chair.

Ai had awakened at the sound of someone sitting beside her. She sat up in her bed, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. She smiled happily as she had found it to be Shani. She got herself out of the bed and walked over to his side. All night she had been thinking about the others but she had noticed that Shani had been acting different lately. 'Is it because of me..?' she thought as she stood in front of him with an innocent expression. He had muttered something earlier that troubled her a bit. 'He still remembers... the battle...' she thought as she walked closer to him. She couldn't figure out what exactly it was she could do to ease the pain she was feeling right now.

"Shani..." she said softly as she walked ever closer to the sleeping pilot. "I-I..." she stopped as tears began to stream down her face. "Please don't... don't be sorry...!" At that moment she did the only thing a child in desperate need of expressing her feelings could do. Climbing up gently into his lap she embraced him softly, hoping not to disturb him with her childish whims. "Don't... don't be sad anymore..."

Shani stirred slightly at the small amount of contact. He woke up, blinking his eyes trying to get the sleep out of them when he noticed Ai's little embrace. Everything came back to him all at once, why he was here and why Ai probably had him in an embrace. After awhile, the full realization of the situation had sunk in. It wasn't everyday that someone willingly held him in an embrace. He had never felt this way before; his mistakes had never before been returned with forgiveness rather than severe punishment. It was soothing and overwhelming at the same time. Shani may not have noticed it, but he had returned Ai's embrace with one of his own. He failed to notice several tears sliding down his face.

"But Ai...I could have hurt you..." he murmured, still hanging on to the adolescent.

"You didn't know... it's not your fault... so don't.." she looked up at him, eyes consumed by tears. "Please don't go!" she leaned her head against his chest as the tears kept coming. She had accepted his embrace and his sorrow but wanted the feelings to go away. All the troubles of the world weighed down on the child's shoulders. So many expectations and hopes. "I don't want to be alone..." she managed to say through her upset state. "Not again... not like before..."

No one had ever truly known what had happened to Ai all those years ago. It had become even a mystery to herself. Since all records of the Heiwa's had been erased in truth the child did not even exist. She was a ghost from the past of mistakes who had managed to survive. But for what? Something she had always questioned.

"Shani..." she said softly as her breathing began to calm. She did not realize it but quite some time had passed by. The others were probably up and about by now but she couldn't really notice, not now.

"I'll never leave you...I've been alone for too long." he whispered, holding the crying child. He stared at her, watching as she calmed down, his eyes reflecting all of the pain from his past as he did his best to comfort her, not really thinking about himself. They had no clue, however, that the door was open. Outside in the hall Athrun and Kira stood there, silently watching, hidden behind the corners of the hall.

"Let's leave them alone for awhile, I think they both need it." Kira suggested as Athrun gave a nod of agreement.

"I'll stay here, by your side, I won't leave and disappear..." he stated.

"I miss them all... my family..." she began as her tears had finally settled and she turned to face him. "I... I never knew them that well..." she was staring off a bit as she was finally talking normally again. Still, the whole feeling that surrounded her was an uneasy one. "The only one I knew well was my father, he taught me everything... That is... until 'they' came..." she stopped at the feeling of a sharp pain. She grasped her head in her hand as she shook the feeling off. "The thing is that whenever I try to remember anything at all from then... I just can't... And so, I don't even know who I am anymore..." Her tone had changed drastically as she had begun to explain these things to him. It was something that she hadn't been able to do for so long, yet somehow it felt as if she had said these things once before.

"The funny thing is... I technically don't even exist as far as records go. When they tracked down my family they left no trace, and yet I somehow managed to escape... I'm basically nothing more than a forgotten memory to the world now..." her expression had lightened some but the way in which she had chosen her words was painful. One so young yet already so wise to these tragedies. War was more than all of this, and yet everything all at once. "I've never really been able to tell anyone before now... After all, I was nothing to them..." she glared off into the distance as she remembered the ways in which her 'special' abilities had been dealt with. "But no matter what happened, no matter how bad it ever got, all I had to do was use this charm and it would all go away." she said, taking the charm from underneath her shirt collar and presenting it to him.

"My father promised that as long as I kept it near he would always be there for me... He told me that if I followed my heart it would always lead me to where I was going and that with my voice I could cleanse this world... I never really knew what he meant by it all, but now I think I'm starting to understand it." she said as she grasped the pendant tightly in her hands and smiled warmly at Shani. "I guess I'll try my best to live up to everyone's expectations. I owe you all so much now..."

"Screw expectations." Shani remarked, feeling a bit better ever since he had started to spend some time with Ai. "You don't owe us anything." he added, giving her a smug smirk. "If the whole world revolved around expectations, then I wouldn't even be here." He then turned to face Ai, his look turning a bit more stern. "I guess I can't hide my past anymore, it's just gonna keep getting harder the more I try to hide it..." he muttered.

"It's not like I have anything to be proud of unlike you." he explained. "I was a scoundrel, some kind of...well, okay, to put it plainly...I was a serial killer. Yeah, I got my kicks off of seeing people dead..." Shani turned to look down at the floor in shame as he was explaining this. "I knew I would get caught eventually, but I did it anyways, the slums isn't exactly the best place to live." he continued. "I had made quite the reputation for myself, that was, until I was apprehended and put in front of a judge and declared guilty...But being that same god damned coward I was, I pleaded for another sentence other than death. So they decided to turn me into some kind of experiment for the Earth Alliance, and I get treated like a piece of equipment rather than a human being." He took a slight glance up at Ai and returned to his story. "So they decided to wipe out any evidence of me and literally erased me from all government files. And since I am equipment, I am thereby expendable and replaceable...That's just the way it's been, until you came along." he finished, saying the last part with a bit more enthusiasm. He gave her a faint smile. "I guess there was just nothing I could do about it..."

Ai smiled back happily at him. She was beginning to show her other traits and see those of Shani as well.

"Well..." she began as she said it a bit tauntingly as she tiptoed around the area he sat. "Unlike you... Things like the past don't matter much to me, because when you set your mind on the past or even the future you begin to question everything." she continued, her tone changing to a more serious one as she stopped her strides around the chair and stopped in front of him. "What if, what could have been and what has been. These are things in which you cannot change, what will be will be. But if you let things like these worry you then life will pass you by along with the answers in which you seek." Walking up to him, she got in front of his gaze and sent him a caring look.

"Mistakes happen to everyone, sure you may have done wrong once before but everyone has a chance to repent. Why, if you were so cold-blooded in all this then you would have never bothered protecting someone like me. But the truth is you did, and little things like that are what set us all apart, yet somehow make us all who we are." she backed away from him a little as she crossed her hands behind her back. Her whole personality had seemed to shift as soon as she had begun to discuss with him, it was as if she were a different person.

"Forgiveness. If the world could show everyone forgiveness then it would be a much more peaceful place. At least, that's what I think! As you've seen, though,my simple ideals can only go so far when the eyes of others see me as nothing more than a civilian, a child and now even a supposed traitor to my own kind. But are we not all the very same, born into this planet seeking purpose, finding hope and creating dreams..?" she stopped for a moment as she had realized how far she had trailed off with her explanation. She began to blush a bit as she rubbed the back of her head.

"Ah! Heh, I guess I went a little over board there..." she said as she walked over to Shani and took hold of his hand. "Uh... Why don't we go to the others, I'm sure they've been waiting." she asked, trying to change the subject and not leave out the others at the same time.

"Yeah, I'm getting kinda hungry...all this talk is really stressful..." Shani commented. Suddenly two people burst into the room.

"Crot stole my fucking sandwich!" Orga growled. "You already had one, now gimme!"

"You ate my doughnut! The _jelly-filled_ one..." Crot retorted.

"You left it there, now who does that to a doughnut!" Orga remarked. They gave each other death glares before going all out for the small sandwich. Shani quickly picked up Ai, taking her out of the room before they got caught up in the fray.

"Whew, that was close..." Shani sighed, taking another glance back at the fighting duo and gently setting Ai down.

"What's going on?" Dearka questioned, suddenly seeming to appear beside them.

"Oh, they're at it again..." Shani replied. Pretty soon, Nicol and Yzak joined them, having finished their morning breakfast.

"What now?" Yzak asked, looking curiously into the room.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you..." Nicol warned. A loud yell could be heard as Crot bounded out of the room with the sandwich in his mouth with a very pissed off Orga following. Ai began to laugh at the others. It was a different feeling for her, she had never laughed like this before. It wasn't forced, it was pure happiness that she could express.

"Crot, Orga, wait!" she shouted while still laughing. Dashing over to the two she stood in their ways and smiled cheerfully. "Won't you come with us?" she asked with those eyes that said 'Don't leave a face like this alone...' Without either of their consents she took both by the hand and dragged them over to the others. She let go of the two as she was now standing in front of all eight pilots. It was a sight to behold; pilots from different factions and with different abilities all brought together by one person. Just then Birdy flew over to her shoulder, flapping it's wings and facing the others. Ai looked up at Kira and smiled at the small bird.

"Is he yours?" she asked curiously.

"Yeah." Kira replied. "Although he was the one who made it for me." He gestured towards Athrun.

"Heh, you could just call that a sign of our friendship!" Athrun remarked.

Suddenly, an announcement came over the intercom;

"We will be reaching ORB territory in approximately two hours."

"ORB eh?" Dearka commented.

"Yep." Kira replied. "My parents live there..." Kira gave a slight sigh, deep in thought thinking about his parents.

"Come on." Yzak remarked. "We should be reaching ORB soon and I don't wanna stay cooped up in this ship in the meantime!" Everyone gave nods of agreement.

"How long are we docking in ORB?" Crot questioned.

"I'm not sure." Kira replied. "I'll go ask Miss Murrue about it." He ran off towards the bridge while everyone stood waiting in the hall.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Yes, we did it; a heartfelt scene between Shani and Ai! It was the best I could think up; we scale things on the 'awness' factor since Tanya's not too keen on couples just yet. Either way, it's still on of my favorite, and probably one of the best, in what we've done so far. Funny, though, how Crot manages to pop up and ruin everyone's day. Poor guy doesn't get much love in the beginning. Now that I look back, some of this stuff seems a bit rushed... but it might just be me since I overanalyze things like that for no good reason. Anyway, onto ORB! (Or are they..?) 


	16. Passing the Time By

**Phase 16: Passing the Time **

"So, what now?" Shani remarked, giving everyone a questioning look.

"Uh... good question..." replied the still cheerful youth. Leaning against the wall she placed her hand under her chin and went into deep thought. 'ORB... That place seems so familiar somehow...' she stopped her thoughts as Birdy flew into the air. An idea popped into Ai's head as she took a glance back at the others. She gave an odd gesture to Birdy which made the bird react by flying from the hallway.

"Come on!" she stated to the others cheerfully as she took hold of Shani's hand and dragged the others along. They wove their way through the halls until finally they reached a door. It opened with a refreshing flash of light to reveal the deck. Ai let go of Shani's hand and wandered to the rail where Birdy had settled. She crossed her arms atop the railing and took a deep breath. A scheming look took her face as she thought of a dirty trick to play on the others. Turning to face them she let Birdy take his place on her shoulder again as she turned back to the railing and began to climb up. Now standing on the rails she stretched out a bit and gazed into the distance.

"Ah, what a great view..." she said to herself as she took another deep breath. She began to sway back and forth on the rails, making it look like she was about to fall. "You guys should lighten up a bit. You're all so stiff right now!" she joked as she walked along the top of the rails with great ease. Everyone was enjoying the view until they noticed that Ai was hanging out on the railing...

"Ai get down! you could fall off!" Nicol remarked.

"Ai! What on earth are you doing up there!" Yzak demanded with a hint of worry. Shani watched all of them yell out comments to the young girl. 'Uh, that's not gonna get her down...' he thought, a smirk appearing on his face. 'I'll just have to do things my way...' Only Crot and Orga seemed to notice the scheming look on Shani's face.

"Oh no..." they both muttered.

"What?" Athrun questioned, not comprehending the full situation.

"I'm gonna get you down myself!" came a yell from the side. Athrun abruptly turned to find Shani climbing up the railings.

"Gah! Not you too..." Athrun murmured. "Well, I guess it's a faster way then trying to coax her down, or scold her down..." Athrun reluctantly began to climb up the Archangel's railings. Pretty soon, all the pilots were climbing up the railing in an attempt to reach the small child who was gracefully standing on top of the railing. Shani and Athrun were the first to reach where Ai was standing.

"Ai, what were you thinking!" Shani and Athrun remarked in unison. The others weren't far behind and within moments, they were all standing on the railing, trying once again, to coax Ai down. That was, until a gust of wind blew by causing some of the pilots to lose their balance, seeing as how they were so much taller than Ai, this is where the law of wind resistance comes in...

"I'm gonna fall!" Orga remarked, finding nothing sturdy to grab a hold of, he settled for the thing that was closest to him, namely Crot. This caused a chain reaction, for when Crot was grabbed, he too stumbled and in turn grabbed Yzak who grabbed Dearka who grabbed Athrun, who _tried_ to grab Shani but missed and ended up pushing him instead... The pilots ended up forming a little chain link on the side of the ship.

"Help!" they all screamed, hanging on for dear life. Shani on the other hand was still struggling to get his balance back and had almost accomplished this feat if it wasn't for the sea gull who had decided to pester Shani with incoherent squawking and irritating pecking.

"Get away from me you feathered bird brain!" Shani growled, swiping at the sea bird while trying to keep his balance at the same time. The bird refused to stop taunting the annoyed pilot and continued on with it's torment, until Shani fell off the edge of the railing and landed in the waters below with a loud crash.

"Oh, now that had to suck..." Orga remarked while clinging onto Crot.

"Well, you're gonna be next if you don't stop squirming!" Crot retorted while still hanging onto Yzak.

"All of you just stop it!" Athrun shouted, trying to support them all, but was losing his grip.

"Please don't tell me that what I think is happening is really happening..." Dearka commented as he spotted Athrun's hands slowly slipping off the railing.

"Hold your breath..." Athrun remarked before they were sent plummeting towards the ocean below in a chain of screaming pilots. Ai watched as the whole scenario had slowly occurred. She burst into laughter as they all fell into the water.

"Hey Birdy, why don't you go get some help." she said to the bird as she sent him on his way. She took a deep breath then looked down into the water bellow. "Wow, I didn't think they'd all fall, this is priceless..." she said still laughing but trying to grip the reality of the situation.

"Oh well, I guess I better go and help them before the tide gets them first..." she stated as she fixed her position on the railing. Then, she jumped from the bars and dived her way down into the water bellow. Her technique was an impressive one as when she made her way into the water only a small splash could be seen. She swam back up to the surface and took a gasp of fresh air as she swam her way over to the others, still smiling happily.

"Hey guys!" she stated from nowhere as she positioned herself in between the seven of them. "So... How's the water?" she joked as she saw the expressions of them all. 'I'm going to get it soon...' she thought to herself, trying to hide her current worry with her odd questions.

Soaked and humiliated beyond belief, all of the pilots gave Ai an annoyed look, which later changed to a more relaxed look.

"You know, it's been awhile since I went swimming ever since the war started..." Dearka commented, trying to stay afloat on the water.

"I had no clue that I could ever feel this good..." Orga mumbled, trying to enjoy the cool waters. Shani was floating on his back with his eyes closed, nearly being rocked to sleep by the ocean's gentle current. Meanwhile Crot and Yzak were practically trying to drown each other in the salty seas.

"Stop it you two..." Athrun stated. He couldn't help feeling like they had forgotten something... The answer hit him like a mobile suit doing the can can on his head.

"Oh my god, we forgot about Kira!" Athrun remarked.

"Uh oh...he should've been back with the answer by now..." Shani muttered.

* * *

Kira had been running through the halls trying to get to the bridge, when he finally arrived, tired and out of breath. There was no one at the bridge, so Kira decided to look and see where everyone had gone.

"Hello?" he remarked, sounding quite unsure. "Is anyone here?" He heard some scuffling and decided to look into it. He then accidentally stumbled onto Murrue and Mwu's private activities.

"Oh crap!" he yelped slightly, hoping that the couple wouldn't notice. He let out a small sigh of relief to see that they hadn't noticed him at all in their little moment of 'passion'. He quickly strode silently out the door, making sure that they didn't notice him in the meantime. He was walking by staring through all of the windows on the Archangel when he noticed something strange. He heard yelling coming from the side of the ship. Kira opened the window and nearly burst out laughing when he saw the predicament that everyone had gotten themselves into.

* * *

Ai smiled as she saw how fast their personalities shifted from annoyed to relaxed and now panicked. She swam over near the ship and looked up as she then looked back at the others. She sent them an expression in which Shani, Crot and Orga should have been all too familiar with.

"I've got an idea!'" she shouted over to them all. She went into her pocket and picked out her special metal cylinder as she extended the pole once more. Adjusting a few things she then pointed it up at the deck and pressed her button as half of the pole extended to grapple onto the rails. Tightening her grip on the pole, she tugged it a bit to become secure as she then turned to the others. "I hope you guys don't mind this way. It's strong enough to support the weight of a Gundam so I'm pretty sure it can take us all back." she joked as she began to climb up the rope and get a better view of them all. "That is, unless you'd rather swim to ORB..." she rolled her eyes a bit as she shook her head and made her way. "If you don't hurry I'll leave you here!"

When those words left Ai's mouth, all of the pilots had little thought about what would happen if they were to be left behind in open waters. Shani was thinking along the lines of Jaws while Orga thought of them drowning in a storm. Crot had envisioned grabbing a jellyfish and shoving it into Yzak's face while Yzak thought of putting a crab down Crot's shirt. Athrun thought of actually having to swim all the way to ORB and them drowning in the process. Dearka just thought that they were gonna get eaten by a giant whale, while Nicol thought that they would probably be swept further and further away until reaching land was an impossible option. Still lost in their demented thoughts, the pilots quickly climbed up and into the dry interior of the Archangel.

"We're gonna go change, let's meet back here." Orga suggested.

"Sure, why not?" Dearka replied. Everyone seperated to get into some dryer clothing.

Mwu was taking a leisurely stroll around the halls on the Archangel, that is until he slipped on the slick tiles and landed with a thud.

"Aw...just beautiful..." he remarked, seeing how the floor was soaking wet. "Why do kids have to be so much trouble?" He reluctantly grabbed a mop and began the hard work and toil that he would rather not do. The only thing that kept him going was the fact of how pissed Murrue would be if she found out what had happened.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Ha! I bet you never saw all of this coming! But that's besides the point. Aw, poor Mwu getting stuck with clean up, how he must detest all of those young pilots, or at least be pestered by their mess. This time, though, I promise... Next stop ORB! 


	17. ORB: The Free Union

**Phase 17: ORB: The Free Union**

It didn't take Ai long to finish getting dressed, although she hated the fact that she had to wear a uniform. Out of all the things in this war the one thing she hated doing more than fighting was uniforms! 'This sucks...' she thought as she reluctantly left the room to go regroup with the others. She sighed as she saw Mwu cleaning up the hallways. 'I caused so much trouble today... I feel so horrible now...' she turned the other corner to the other's rooms as she leaned against the wall and crossed one of her legs over the other with her hands behind her back. An announcement for the ship's arrival in ORB echoed the hallways as Ai snapped out of her thoughts.

"Wow, that fast, huh?" she said to herself. It hadn't seemed like they had been outside the ship for long but quite some time had passed. Ai turned her head at the sound of a familiar mechanical bird. A slight smiled formed on her face as she held out her finger for him. "Hello there, Birdy. I guess you didn't need to go get help for me after all, but I bet the others could have used it." she said as she laughed a bit.

* * *

"What!" came an angry shout. "What do you mean that they never came back! Are you saying that my men are MIA!"

"No...well, uh, we're not too sure Commander Creuset." stammered a cadet.

"Scour the location if you have to, those men are a valuable asset to ZAFT's militancy powers..." Creuset stated. "I'll be in my quarters, inform me of any changes..." He briskly strode off, leaving the cadet to his work.

* * *

"So, they're gone?" questioned an apathetic voice.

"Yes sir. They seemed to have disappeared during the battle, and we've not heard from them since..." reported the lieutenant. "I see...their Gundams went with them?" Azrael interrogated, getting quite annoyed by the turn of events.

"It seems so." the lieutenant replied.

"Well, if you find the Gundams, bring them back, we'll just have to find replacements for those missing pieces of equipment..." Azrael idly stated.

* * *

All of the pilots had gotten changed and were now found conversing in different corners of the hallways. Everyone was psyched about getting off of the ship. Now all they were waiting for was the approval of ORB and they would be allowed to roam for about a week or so. Athrun was wandering the halls, not feeling like he wanted to talk at the moment, when he rounded the corner and saw Ai laughing with Birdy.

"You like him?" he asked, curious to see what she thought of his piece of work. "Maybe I could make you one, if you want."

"Ah, really?" she asked with eyes wide open in delight. "That would be nice..." she finished as she looked happily at the bird lifting her hand up and let him flew around the area. She gazed up at the bird as she trailed off into deep thought.

* * *

**--flashback--**

"A girl? That's all that's left..?" came a voice from outside of a ship's sickbay.

"Yes... It seems she was the only survivor, but there's not much we can do about it. It seems she won't say a word, whenever we try to examine her she resists. It's a hopeless cause." replied another as they crossed their arms in disappointment.

"Then, she's useless?" asked the other person curiously.

"Not quite, but for the time being we shall keep her locked up and examine her reactions..." answered the other as a smirk appeared on his face. The other man nodded in agreement as he walked over to the door and entered in a code.

A child lay huddled in the corner of the room, her eyes pitch black and with an expression of fear. The men walked over to the girl and forcefully took her by the arm as they dragged her to a cell nearby and threw her in.

"Now we shall see what exactly those damned Heiwa's were planning..."

**--end flashback--**

* * *

A sudden announcement came over the intercom.

"We have received an approval from ORB. You may now leave the ship."

"Hell yeah! It's about time!" Crot remarked, making a small dash for the door, with Yzak doing the same thing,but when two people try to walk through the door at once, they always get stuck. This stated the truth for an annoyed growl came from both Yzak and Crot the moment they tried to squeeze through the door.

"Gah! You've gone and got us stuck!" Yzak sneered.

"Me? Who was it who followed me through the damned door!" Crot retorted. Shani was standing there watching the whole scenario.

"Hm, I have an easy solution to this..." he murmured, eyeing the two pilots.

"What the hell does that mean!" Yzak demanded.

"I'm gonna get you out, anyways, you're blocking the way for other people..." Shani replied, walking up to Yzak and Crot.

"J-Just what are you planning this time Shani?" Crot questioned.

"Let's just say that I'm gonna get one hell of a 'kick' outta this one..." Shani replied with a smug grin on his face.

"Oh no..." Yzak muttered.

"Heh, here I come!" Shani shouted and with a well aimed kick, he sent the two pilots flying out the door.

Orga was still strolling through the halls with a paperback novel in his hands. 'With everyone out of the ship, I can read in peace...' Orga thought, walking into an empty room and sitting down on the couch.

"What 'cha reading?" Dearka asked, popping up from out of nowhere with a grin on his face.

"Something, now go away..." Orga stated, trying to concentrate on the text.

"You should get out of this ship for awhile, don't be such a bookworm..." Dearka commented, not bothering to heed Orga's request.

"I don't wanna, now leave me alone..." Orga growled, getting annoyed with the presence of the other pilot.

"Well, when are you gonna get off this ship?" Dearka asked.

"Don't know, don't care." Orga stated.

"You can be so boring at times...I know! I'll liven things up..." Dearka chuckled, snatching Orga's book from his hand.

"Hey! You lost my page!" Orga growled.

"If you want your book back, you're gonna have to get it!" Dearka teased, dashing out of the ship.

"That bastard...Whoever said that I had to run..." Orga murmured, running off towards the hangar.

* * *

Meanwhile, Athrun was still in the hall with Ai.

"Come on, let's get a look around, who knows when we'll be docking next." Athrun remarked, taking Ai's hand.

"You guys ready to go?" Kira asked, appearing in the same hall with an intent look on his face, with Nicol right behind him.

"Sure, ready as I'll ever be I guess." Athrun replied. As they walked outside, a cool breeze swept the port creating a serene atmosphere, that is until a loud boom was heard a little ways away...

"Gotcha!" Orga shouted, managing to grab onto Dearka with Calamity. "Give me my novel back."

"Alright! Just don't drop me!" Dearka yelped.

"That's more like it." Orga replied, climbing out of the cockpit to retrieve the object in question.

"So you're gonna put me down, right?" Dearka questioned.

"Maybe..." Orga muttered, getting back into his cockpit. Calamity then moved next to a flag pole.

"Wait! What are you doing!" Dearka demanded.

"Just putting you 'down' on this pole here..." Orga replied with a smirk on his face.

"Hey! No fair!" Dearka cried out, dangling helplessly from the pole.

"Too bad for you, should've just left when I told you to." Orga remarked, heading back to the hangar in Calamity. Ai stared blankly at all of the situations occurring around her. 'Men...' she thought to herself as she strolled over to help out Dearka. She stood under the pole and looked up as she scanned it's height. 'Hm... This shouldn't be too hard...' she thought as she continued her analysis.

"Hold on, I'll be right there!" she shouted up to him with a cheerful smile. She backed over to a nearby wall and stood there for a while as she glanced back up the pole. "This'll have to do..." she muttered to herself as she took a few steps from the wall and then charged back toward it. Scaling the wall she repelled from it's surface onto the pole and used her special tool to form a wedge between the pole and the wall. Crouching on the wedge she took a rope from another pocket and tied it around Dearka and secured it to the pole.

"You should be able to repel down from here." she said as she moved back on top of the wedge and placed her hand upon it. "Meet you down!" she shouted as the tool collapsed bellow her and she made her way to the ground, landing quite gracefully. "Hehehe, I haven't done that in so long!" she said to herself as she laughed while waiting for the others. Athrun, Kira and Nicol witnessed the whole scene in awe at what the little girl had done.

"Dang...What a girl..." Athrun muttered, not taking his eyes off of Ai.

"She's amazing..." Nicol murmured.

"That was awesome..." Kira muttered. All three of them were standing there dumbstruck. Dearka had managed to get himself down from the pole and was constantly thanking Ai.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Dearka exclaimed, happy to be on solid ground again. Shani, Crot and Yzak rushed over to their location.

"What happened? I saw Calamity walk off..." Shani questioned, curious as to what had happened and why Ai now had an overzealous pilot by her heels.

"Dearka, just what are you doing?" Yzak asked, seeing his friend in that state made Yzak a little uneasy.

"You try being suspended from that pole!" Dearka remarked, pointing to the pole.

"Let me guess, you messed with Orga right?" Crot assumed.

"You got suspended from that pole!" Yzak exclaimed, trying to hold in his laughter.

"It's not funny! How about I get Buster and hang you up there!" he angrily retorted. Yzak just literally shut up after the comment.

"So, where we off to? We have a week in leisure before we head out again, and I don't wanna waste it!" Athrun remarked, turning to face Ai. Ai slipped the piece of metal back into her pocket and walked back over to everyone. There was a smile still plastered on her face since she was already having so much fun with all of them.

"Where exactly should we be going to?" she asked curiously as she looked around the area. Something caught her eye as she heard a loud racket coming from close by and what sounded like shouting. "What's that..?" she questioned as she pointed in the distance to a small figure quickly closing in.

* * *

"Lady Cagalli! Please wait! Your father will be worried sick if he hears what you've been doing!" came a shout.

"No Kisaka! I wanna fight! I'm not gonna sit here and watch everything get destroyed!" hollered Cagalli, who was still running at full speed.

"What's going on?" Athrun murmured, looking out into the distance.

"I dunno, but it sounds like we have a dispute going on..." Shani remarked.

"Yeah, but what's with the girl?" Yzak commented.

"Well, maybe we can help or something, it's not like we're busy." Kira suggested. Although before they even got a chance to act upon their decision, Cagalli came running through, toppling some of the pilots over, who tried their best not to crush Ai.

"Oh I'm sorry!" Cagalli exclaimed running back. "I'm really sorry..."

"Just answer this...who are you and what's going on?" Athrun requested from underneath Dearka.

"Oh, well, I'll have to make this quick." she stated, seeing as how Kisaka was getting closer. "I'm Cagalli and I'm trying to get away from my body guard, so there you have it, okay? Bye!" She ran off in the other direction just as Kisaka came dashing past.

"What was that all about?" Yzak muttered from under Shani.

"Weird..." Shani remarked.

"Wanna get ourselvesout ofthis mess?" Kira asked from under Crot.

"Yeah, are you okay Ai?" Nicol questioned, waiting for a reply, hoping that they hadn't crushed the poor girl. The others didn't notice yet but Ai had slipped out from beneath their pile up to follow after Cagalli. 'Finally, someone other than all of these boys!' she thought as she swiftly trailed after her.

"Hey wait!" she shouted as she turned a corner only to see her still running at quite a distance away. She turned another corner only to find that she had lost her. "Darn... and I was so close too..." she said to herself as she stopped her chase and took a deep breath. Voices could be heard from behind a door nearby as she walked over to it. "Huh?" she questioned as she leaned next to the door so as not to be seen. 'That voice...' she thought as she waited beside it. 'I know it...'

"Ai?" Athrun asked. "Where are you?" He tried to move around in the pile of peoples, but found that he could not find the youth anywhere.

"She just disappeared...where could she have gone?" Kira pondered.

"Maybe you crushed her into oblivion!" Crot chuckled, aiming the comment towards Yzak.

"What? No way!" Yzak retorted, glaring at the other pilot.

"No really, what happened to her? I don't think that she fell into another dimension..." Dearka remarked.

"What if she snuck out when we weren't paying attention?" Shani questioned.

"That's all too possible knowing Ai..." Athrun muttered.

"WAIT! SNUCK OUT!" Shani and Athrun exclaimed in unison. "We gotta find her!" Shani leapt off the pile of pilots and ran off in the direction that Cagalli had run off, while Athrun had managed to squeeze out from underneath Deaka and dashed off in the same direction.

"Those two make me feel like some kind of neglective parent..." Crot commented.

"Yeah, it's like any moment, you expect someone to file child abuse..." Yzak added.

"Well, get a move on you two!" came Nicol, Kira and Dearka who were already a couple yards ahead of them.

"Great, now we're slow too..." Yzak muttered.

"But I know that I'm faster than you!" Crot remarked sprinting off.

"Hey, you cheated!" Yzak cried, running after everyone. Everyone was trying to search for the missing child, but the maze of buildings in the port were impeding their progress. Shani and Athrun were left out of breath and panting near a storage building.

"We can't...find her like this..." Athrun panted.

"We need..a ... better view..." Shani groaned. They looked up and found a small rusted ladder above them leading onto the roof of the building.

"How about you go up?" Athrun suggested, pointing at the ladder.

"Oh, and why not you?" Shani demanded.

"So...uh...you could get credit for finding Ai! After all, what would she think if you were too lazy to climb a ladder to find her?" Athrun replied. Shani gave a small growl before reluctantly beginning to climb the ladder.

"It's got cobwebs on it..." he muttered, brushing them aside.

"Well, what do you see?" Athrun questioned.

"Hey, there she is! By that one building with the door!" Shani replied.

"They all have doors..." Athrun grumbled.

"Oh...it's that funny looking one that's really big." Shani stated.

"You're hopeless... but I think I know which one you mean." Athrun replied. "Why don't you come down now?"

"Sure..." Shani stated and began to climb down until he heard a loud creak. "Uh oh...I'm fucking screwed..." he muttered, finding the source of the creaking to be from loose hinges on the ladder.

"What do you mean 'uh oh'?" Athrun asked.

"I mean, get out of the way!" Shani hollered as the ladder came crashing down on top of Athrun, leaving the two in a messed up heap on the ground.

"Ow..." Athrun moaned.

"Told you..." Shani muttered. They then heard voices coming from the other side of the building.

"Damn, the others must've gotten to her first!" Shani growled.

"Let's go!" Athrun mumbled. Both of them trying to limp as fast as they could towards the other side of the building.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** You know now that I look closely at what Tanya put Shani and Athrun seem like the overprotective parents in all of this, as odd as that may sound... See, I told you we'd get to ORB! Though, I never said there wasn't a few incidents beforehand... Now, if you ask me something very interesting must be going on behind those doors, but just what I can't tell you! I'm so mean... 


	18. Trial and Error

**Phase 18: Trial and Error**

"Where were you two?" Dearka questioned.

"You look like you got ran over by a mobile suit!" Crot exclaimed, nearly bursting out into laughter.

"Anyway, we found Ai safe and sound by this door..." Yzak added.

"Let's go in, we can find out what the hell's going on!" Crot grumbled, becoming slightly impatient. Dearka kicked open the door to find Cagalli, Murrue and Mwu inside what looked to be a big Gundam arena.

"Well, looks like we have some visitors..." Murrue commented.

"What do you pilots say, wanna test out this arena?" Mwu questioned. "Or are you too afraid that I'll shoot you down?"

"Bring it!" Yzak growled.

"Calm down buddy..." Dearka remarked, trying to keep his friend in check.

"It'll be a nice change of pace from battles where we have to kill..." Nicol commented.

"Let's do it then!" Kira exclaimed. "I'm gonna go fetch Strike!"

"Come on Ai, I wanna see what Cerberus can do." Shani remarked before running off with the others. Before Ai could respond to anything they had all run off to get into their Gundams. At first, she stood there lost in what was going on. That is, until what Shani had said finally hit her. 'Ah-! That's right, I almost forgot about Cerberus!' she thought as she looked back at the arena only to see that everyone was all set for the battle.

"Oh no..." she mumbled as she walked over to the door only to find it blocked by a certain 'someone' who never let her get away with anything. He locked the door on his way out of the room as well so she couldn't follow behind into the hangar. She ran up to the window and watched helplessly as they all began without her. "No... Why me..? Why is it always me who's left out..?" she muttered to herself as she slid to the floor and into a sad depression. 'It's not even the battle that upsets me the most...' she thought to herself as she wrapped her arms around her legs. 'Poor Cerberus, I can't believe I left you all alone for so long... If it goes on for much longer then...'

"This sucks..." she moaned from within her huddled up state.

* * *

"Everyone ready?" Kira asked, bringing strike into it's phase shift mode.

"Where's Ai?" Athrun questioned.

"I dunno, should we wait?" Nicol asked.

"Let's give her ten minutes." Orga stated. All of the pilots stared at the gate, wondering if Ai was gonna show up, or if they were gonna have to start without her.

* * *

Meanwhile, Cagalli was wandering the building, checking out the facility and it's mobile units when she found Ai huddled up.

"Hey don't worry, I'll get you in. Men get too full of themselves anyways... It doesn't matter what they say! I want you to go out there and kick some ass! Show 'em what a female can do!" Cagalli exclaimed. "You jut follow me!" Cagalli extended a hand, waiting to see if Ai would respond. Murrue had spotted Cagalli and Ai and decided to watch from the walkway above. Ai took Cagalli's hand as they both made their way to Cerberus. 'What are the chances..?' she thought as she was now standing in front of her Gundam. She let go of Cagalli's hand and turned to face her as she bowed graciously.

"Thank you so much!" she said cheerfully with a smile. "If it wasn't for you then someone else might have taken him away... my Gundam, that is." she said motioning to Cerberus who had been in it's mobile suit form ever since they were taken from the island. She stopped her short explanation as she heard the others over the .com system that was still on in her cockpit. "I guess I'll get going now." she said turning back over to Cagalli. "I would very much like to speak with you again. My name is Aiorem Heiwa, but you can call me Ai, thank you for all of the help!" she said as parting words as she entered the cockpit and prepared for launch.

It looked to her that the others had already begun as she readied herself for launch. She decided to stay low for a while to see just who was in the arena. 'I'll just wait to launch, I never was one to be on time anyway...' she thought as she sat back and waited.

* * *

"Come on! Is that all you got? Damn you suck!" Crot taunted, seeing the Duel trying to reach Raider, who was in its mobile armor form.

"Get you're freaking ass down here right now you rotten Natural!" Yzak retorted, not wanting to be bested by some Natural.

"Pay attention Yzak!" Athrun called out just as Aegis pummeled Duel into the ground.

"Hey, save some for me!" Dearka shouted, firing several rounds from his mounted cannon.

"You call that shooting? Now this is what it should look like!" Orga remarked, blasting away at Buster using Calamity's main cannon.

"Heh, what's the use of a gun if you can't fire!" Shani exclaimed, shoving the scythe into the cannon's opening causing the weapon to jam.

"You're gonna pay for that!" Orga growled, turning to face Forbidden.

Meanwhile, the Aile Strike was trying to avoid shots from a certain Skygrasper, loaded with Launcher unit parts.

"Gotcha now kid!" Mwu commented, firing a charged blast from the mobile armor. Kira managed to dodge the incoming attack.

"You gotta do better than that Mwu!" Kira remarked, bashing the Skygrasper out of the air for a brief moment, until Blitz gave the Aile Strike a hard punch.

"What are you trying to do!" Crot hollered.

"Consider it a free ride... Now unless you're gonna get out of this form then I'm just gonna keep using you!" Yzak sneered, making Duel hang onto Raider.

"Let go! No freeloaders!" Crot growled, performing a barrel-roll in mid-air causing the Duel to let go of Raider. Immediately, Crot shifted Raider back to it's mobile suit form and began trying to crush Duel with it's spherical breaker.

"Eat this bastard!" Crot shouted, sending the weapon crashing into the side of Duel's head.

"Ha! You're just lucky that wasn't aimed at you're cockpit!" Crot taunted. Yzak, who was enraged by the comment took a rock from the field and began bashing Raider with it.

"Yzak, stop killing nature!" Nicol scolded, thrashing the Duel in a sneak attack using the mirage colloid.

"It was just a rock!" Yzak muttered. He turned Duel around to face Blitz. "Here take your pathetic rock!" Yzak sneered, throwing the rock at high velocity towards Blitz, but since Nicol had already seen this coming from his hot-headed comrade, he had already ducked out of the way. As for the rock, it kept going until it reached the next closest thing, Forbidden. Shani, who saw the incoming hunk of mineral did the first thing that came to his mind, he thwacked the rock using the scythe, watching it zoom towards another unit.

"Holy shit, home run!" Shani chuckled, watching to see what would become of the rock. This time the rock went flying towards Buster, who was about to fire from his cannon.

"Dearka wait! Don't shoot!" Athrun warned, but it was slightly too late. The rock fit snugly into the barrel of Burster's cannon. Since Buster's cannon was clogged, the barrel of the massive cannon exploded, sending the rock hurtling towards the Aile Strike, who was having a mid-air dog-fight with Mwu. The rock knocked Aile off coarse, causing the Gundam to crash into a nearby tree while the rock, losing momentum, harmlessly rolled back to the Duel.

"Whoa, chain reaction..." Cagalli muttered, watching the battle from the observatory. "Wonder where Ai is..." she muttered to herself.

Ai sighed and rubbed the back of her head as she watched the so called 'battle' continue. It didn't take long for her patience to begin to wane as she sat back waiting. 'This is sad...' she thought through the whole process of the rock and tried tempers. She shook her head and finally gave in to her Gundam as she launched into the sky from her area and smack in the middle of all nine pilots.

"Hey guys! Don't go forgetting about me..." she taunted as she shifted Cerberus into it's mobile armor and spread out it's thirteen special weapons. "I promise I won't be too rough..." she teased to them all, curious as to a reaction. "But first-..." She maneuvered her way over to the Skygrasper. "I've got some unfinished business with you." she said somewhat coldly as the Gundam bore it's fangs at the cockpit.

Immediately, all of the Gundams came to a halt, watching as the hound-like mobile armor closed in on the significantly smaller machine.

"Sh-She's a pilot!" Mwu sputtered upon seeing Cerberus rushing towards him.

"You shouldn't mess with someone younger than yourself, it'll just come back and _bite_ you in the ass!" Shani chuckled.

"Glad to see that you could join us!" Nicol exclaimed.

"Now that's what I call a Gundam..." Kira murmured, laying his eyes on Cerberus for the first time.

"Ha! That's fucking awesome! Fllaga's practically a chew toy!" Crot exclaimed.

"Bite! Bite! Bite!" Orga chanted.

"Go Ai! Show 'em who's boss!" Dearka hollered. The excitement was building as the pilots awaited Ai's coarse of action was going to be and what was to become of Mwu in his little unfortunate situation.

Ai laughed at their enthusiasm toward the situation. 'I should have known...' she thought as sweat dropped from her forehead. 'They're so immature...' Cerberus' jaw closed as he moved away from the Skygrasper.

"What do you want to do, Cerberus?" she asked the machine as she examined the area. The Gundam made a low growl as it's blades turned to face forward. The beast crouched down and charged the Skygrasper as he sent Mwu flying. "Can't say I never warned him..." she said under her breath while shrugging. "Now then..." she began as she turned to face the others. "Show me what you can do!" she shouted as her Gundam sped past them, fangs, blades and all.

"Alright, now that's more like it!" Yzak exclaimed, having Duel grab it's beam sword.

"Are you sure you want to do this Ai?" Athrun asked.

"Yeah, we don't want you getting hurt after what happened." Kira added.

"You guys don't know Ai all that well do you?" Orga remarked.

"She's a tough girl, you guys don't have to worry about her!" Crot added.

"Let's go already!" shouted Dearka, who was getting impatient and charged right in with Buster.

"You're not going anywhere!" Shani exclaimed, bashing Buster forcefully with Forbidden's heavy scythe, stopping the other Gundam in it's tracks.

"Hello!" Nicol remarked, appearing right in front of Forbidden.

"Wha-?" Shani muttered, not having enough time to set up the Panzer System. With a forceful blow, the Blitz knocked the Forbidden to the ground.

"Hey! No fair!" Shani growled, sending a couple rounds from his plasma cannon at the black Gundam.

"Dodge this!" Crot hollered, throwing Raider's spherical breaker towards Cerberus. "You could just call this you're first lesson in evasive maneuvering!" The Aegis and the Stirke were swapping blows, although it seemed that Athrun was slightly pushing Kira back.

"Come on Kira, I know you can do better than that!" Athrun exclaimed.

Cerberus easily dodged the attack from the Gundam as it moved back into place. Ai smiled cheerfully as she watched the others continue their little grudge matches.

"You call that a lesson, huh..?" she said as Cerberus disappeared and reappeared behind Raider. "Well then, it's my turn!" she stated happily as she struck the unit down with Cerberus' main blade. It then charged after the grounded unit as it pinned Raider and kneeled down showing it's massive fangs. "Heh heh." she giggled as she backed off of the Gundam.

"Seems the teacher's lost his edge!" she teased as she left the Raider and went after the other units.

"Who's next!" she questioned as she positioned herself in between the other units. The sheer skill of the attack left Crot in a deep state of awe.

"Damn..." was all he managed to whisper.

"She's good...too good. Let's all try all at once for her! Ready?" Dearka remarked.

"Alright Ai, brace yourself!" Yzak stated. All of the units lunged for the lone Gundam, trying to best the extraordinary youth. Buster fired several rounds along with Calamity, while both the Duel and Forbidden rushed in for a close range attack as Raider and Aegis rushed in their mobile suit forms. The Strike used it's sword, while Blitz used it's grappling claw to try and phase the Gundam. Everything hit, causing a huge shockwave to spread through the area. All of them halted their attacks, waiting to see what had become of Ai and her Cerberus. When the smoke from their combined attacks cleared it revealed the young pilot and her Gundam to be missing. One could not figure if she had managed to get away or if the blast had completely destroyed the unit. A strange noise could be heard all of a sudden as with a swift flash of light and a low roar echoed the arena.

"Don't think you can get rid of us that easily..." came a familiar and confident young voice. "Now then, I believe it's my turn!" she reasoned as she spread out the blades decorating the Gundam's back forming a fiery coat that set them all ablaze.

"Hope you can handle a little heat!" she warned as she charged after the units at an unmatchable speed. With one final blow her Gundam settled on the arena floor as the flames subsided and the blades positioned normal once more.

"Checkmate..."

"Heh, I like this girl!" Cagalli exclaimed from her position above the arena.

"Ohhh...what happened?" Yzak muttered, climbing out of his cockpit and examining the damage on Duel. "Gah! You melted the gun right off of it!" Yzak exclaimed, finding Duel's mounted shoulder gun missing, with a smoldered bit of metal in it's place.

"Oh you think that was bad..." Shani murmured, having already climbed out of his cockpit and pointing to the melted stick that used to be Forbidden's heavy scythe.

"Oh man...I need a new paint job..." Dearka grumbled, seeing as how part of Buster was completely charred.

"What a kickass display..." Orga whispered, seeing as how the barrel's of Calamity's cannons had melted.

"Ow! Hot! Hot! It's still hot!" Crot yelped, doing a slight dance to try to make the heat go away after having gotten out of his cockpit the wrong way.

"I can't believe it..." Nicol whispered, staring at what had once been Blitz's grappling claw. All Kira could do was stare blankly for a nice portion of the Aile Strike's wings had been melted away. Athrun stood there, mouth hanging agape seeing as how Aegis's blades were decimated.

"Well met Ai...well met." Murrue stated, viewing the practice battle from another area in the facility with a small smile on her face.

* * *

Meanwhile, Cagalli had rushed down to see Ai.

"That was so amazing! I've never seen anything like it!" she exclaimed. Ai got out of the cockpit of her Cerberus and made her way over to Cagalli with a slight blush due to all of the attention her battle skills were currently getting.

"Aw, come on now! It was nothing." she said humbly as she tried to get over her embarrassment. "But I'm sorry about the damages..." she said as her tone changed to a more regretful one. "I guess I let the whole thing get kind of out of hand... I'll help fix it if you'd like!" she reasoned trying to help out as best she could so that they wouldn't be mad at her.

"Yeah... We just might take you up on that offer..." stated the pilots as they left what remained of their mobile suits behind and made their way to the doors.

"Good job out there guys!" said Cagalli cheerfully as she greeted them all with a warm smile. They all gave her a somewhat irritated look as the continued to stroll past her. She shook her head and got in front of them as she blocked their way. "Hey, why don't you all come to my place? You can get yourselves cleaned up. It's the least I can do after that spectacle." she offered to the group. They all huddled together in a group to discuss her offer and just as quickly as they huddled together they turned and nodded in agreement.

"Alright then, just follow me!" she said as she turned and began to lead the group.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** I loved this battle scene, it was so much fun. The imagery I got when I was looking back at this stuff is priceless. Of course the highlights would probably be the rock, Mwu vs. the Cerberus and the Duel trying to ride the Raider. So yeah, it was interesting playing out the battle; can you even imagine how something like that would turn out? I mean we've got the ZAFT pilots vs. the Blue Cosmos pilots vs. Kira and the Strike, excluding Ai if we've talking about a fair fight... So yes, I'm going to have up the next 10 phases, so be prepared to read folks! 


	19. Ms Cagalli Yula Athha

**Phase 19: Ms. Cagalli Yula Athha**

**--flashback--**

"Can you conclude anything from the tests?" asked one of the various men in lab coats surrounding her.

"Not quite yet. We still need more data." answered another as he handed an official various documents and a disc. Ai lay there on a lab table connected to various equipment. She was not conscious and had no clue as to what was going on at the moment. She squinted as a sharp pain serged through her small body. The men around her took note of the shock and began to record their findings.

"Don't you think this is a bit much..?" questioned one of the workers nervously. He was looking at charts that were printing up from the earlier tests and was a little concerned. The official slammed his fist down on the counter and shot the man and the child a cold glare.

"That 'thing' isn't worth yours and anyone other's compassion." he sneered as he roughly picked up the papers and left the room to a cold silence. Ai was beginning to regain consciousness at the sudden feeling of the shock.

"She's coming to again. We must terminate operations!" commanded one of the workers as he signaled to let the soldiers into the area. They came in and harshly swiped up the girl as they carried her back to the cells.

There in the cold room her hands and legs were bound together and she was left alone in the darkened area. Alone in this cage guarded by those who thought of her as a thing, a tool and even a monster. She could never understand why for she was merely a child thrown into this strange turn of events. Unaware of anything and everything around her yet still somehow able to move on.

"Why..?" she whispered to herself silently in the cold as she huddled up in the corner trying to hide her tears. For she hid everything from the world since it was all she could do at that point to survive.

**--end flashback--**

* * *

"We're almost there..." Cagalli stated.

"How much more walking..?" Crot whined. "My feet were toasted when I got out of Raider..."

"Men complain too much..." Cagalli whispered to Ai, giving her a grin. After another few moments of walking, they arrived in front of a huge barred and guarded gate.

"What is this place?" Athrun questioned. "Why does it need so much security?"

"Oh, you'll see." Cagalli replied. "Guards! Open the gates!"

"Yes milady!" replied a humble guard.

"Oh don't mind them, they always do that..." Cagalli muttered. They stepped inside as the colossal gate closed behind them. In front of them lie a luxurious mansion, with a huge fountain adorning the front yard.

"Oh my fu-.." Crot exclaimed, before Shani had abruptly silenced him by roughly putting his hand over his mouth.

"Do you know where we are!" Shani whispered. Crot just plainly shook his head, being unable to talk. "We're in Uzumi Nara Athha's place! He's in full control of the ORB nation! You don't wanna go looking like a dumbass in front of this guy!" Shani hissed, keeping his voice down to a minimum as they strode through the foyer of the mansion. "Here we are! This is where I live!" Cagalli announced. Everyone's jaw was agape as they took in the mansion's decor.

"Dang...I'd kill to live in a place like this..." Dearka murmured. Just then several butlers came rushing up to Cagalli.

"Oh Lady Cagalli! You're back! Oh, just look at you...you're filthy! We must get you cleaned up! And look! You brought company!" exclaimed the butler.

"Yes, but-.." Cagalli detested, trying to get them to stop their badgering.

"You're lady friend is going to have the make over of her life!" replied another, grabbing Ai from Shani's grasp. "As for you men...you can just stay here until we're done with the fine ladies..." finished the butler before strolling off. Ai struggled to break free from the people's grasp but to avail. She was helplessly dragged into another room away from Cagalli and the others as the attendants basically strapped her into a chair, though not literally speaking. She stared blankly at them all as she glanced around the room in confusion.

"Ooh you're so cute!" said one of the maids who had gotten up in Ai's face. In her hands were various makeup kits and a few hair accessories.

"My my, she'll look so adorable when we're through!" came another who was standing beside a cabinet. They all had seemingly menacing looks as they approached Ai ever so slowly. "Now then, why don't you just sit back and relax dear..." soothed the woman as she took pieces of cloth and presented them to the others as they closed in. 'Oh no...' Ai thought to herself as sweat began to drop from her forehead. 'Please don't... don't let them do what I think they're going to do...'

"Oh yes, this one for sure." whispered the woman as they formed a circle of discussion near the girl. "That color will match perfectly!"

"Yes, this material is to die for!"

"And they'll match those pretty little eyes of hers!"

'What could they possibly be talking about! Urgh, save me!' she shouted in her mind knowing that it was all in vain. As much as she wanted to run she knew it would be for a stupid reason, and she couldn't be rude since she was indeed a guest. She sighed and dropped her head, closing her eyes and bracing for whatever was in store for her. 'Don't think about... Don't think about...' she chanted in her thoughts as she struggle not to open her eyes. 'Whatever it is it can't be worse than a uniform...'

The attendants wasted no time as they jumped in to help with the project. Ai sat there not budging an inch in hopes that it would all soon be over. She could sense them all going away at her hair, nails and various other things, it was only a matter of time before they got to the apparel. Just as she had predicted, Ai was whisked off of the chair and over to the cabinet, though she refused to open her eyes.

"Which one will look best?" asked one of the woman nearby who was looking through all of the patterns. They all then went into another thinking circle as Ai yet again awaited her fate.

"Alright sweetie, you can go ahead on out!" announced one of the woman as they ushered her out of the room. Needless to say Ai followed their wishes, though she had no idea what they had done to her, that is until she was in the hallway and found herself in front of a mirror. Her eyes widened as she raised a brow in confusion. 'No way...' she thought as she looked down at her new outfit. She saw what she thought to be Cagalli in the distance as she seemingly rushed out of the room, though it seemed that the deed had already been done.

"Cagalli!" Ai shouted as she followed after her only to be mislead and end up outside standing before all of the pilots. Ai froze in place as she stood there in front of the guys, turning her gaze away as her faced became flushed. Shani happened to be the first one to lay eyes on Ai.

"Wh-What did they do to you?" Shani stuttered, still gazing at Ai's new attire.

"Oh dear..." Athrun murmured. Cagalli, who was also clad in a dress, walked over to where Ai was standing.

"I'm sorry about all this. They just love to do these kinds of things." she apologized, tugging slightly at the uncomfortable fabric. All of the other pilots were still gawking at Ai. The maids strode into the room, staring delightfully at their handiwork.

"So boys, what do you think?" questioned the giddy and curious maids.

"Uhh...Don't you think you over did it?" Dearka questioned, giving them a bizarre look.

"Well Ai, maybe a walk would make you feel better..." Shani remarked, slowly edging towards the door, away from the maids. There was just something about them that made him uneasy. Although, in his hasty retreat, Shani failed to notice the butler standing right behind him and nearly knocked the man over. The butler gave him a hard stare, then practically exploded on the poor unfortunate pilot.

"You're filthy! Disgusting cur!" shouted the butler.

"Huh?" Shani questioned, confused by the sudden outburst.

"You're unsanitary! Look at you! Your clothe, your hair, everything!" rambled the butler.

"Um...what if I like it this way? Besides, I don't want your twisted treatment!" Shani yelped, trying to get away from the butler, but to no avail. The butler had already grabbed a hold of the pilot by the ear and was dragging him down the hall.

"That goes for the rest of you dirty baboons as well!" the butler exclaimed. Even more butlers appeared, grabbing a hold of all of the pilots. One by one, they were dragged kicking and screaming out of the room.

"Oh my...looks like they've gotten to them too..." Cagalli commented. Meanwhile, in a dressing room, the butlers were 'implementing' their idea of 'clean' on the pilots.

"Let me go!" Yzak screeched, trying to get them to let go of him.

"This is so messed!" Crot growled, struggling against one of the butlers. A stream of shouts and screams could be heard all throughout the manor. After an agonizing hour, the commotion subsided and the butlers burst back into the foyer.

"Ah, the deed is done, they are now clean as a whistle!" exclaimed the butler who started it all. The other butlers shoved the pilots forward, revealing that each of them were in a tailored tuxedo, with their hair done and every other minor detail in between.

"This sucks..." Orga muttered.

"How humiliating..." mumbled Nicol. Ai held in her laughter at the sight of them all completely spotless. It wasn't their attire that made her laugh but rather the match of the clothes to their actual personalities. She walked up to Shani with her usual cheerful smile, though she wasn't that fast as the dress they had put on her restricted her movement. In all honesty Ai resembled a doll in the outfit, which didn't quite take her fancy.

"How about that walk?" Ai reasoned as she took off the others and motioned to the door.

"Sure, I guess nothing else could go wrong..." Shani sighed, trying to mess his hair up again, but stopped when he noticed the butlers eyeing him. "Let's go!" He gently grabbed Ai's hand and led her outside.

"We'll be checking out the other places in the mansion, you two enjoy yourselves." Kira remarked walking off with the others following behind him.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Hahaha! Putting those pilots in tuxedos was utterly priceless. Then again, all they really have to do is mess up their hair and they'll be set in my book. But yeah, that would be a sight to behold, no? Them in tuxedos... Hm... Maybe we should have some sort of scene like Final Fantasy VIII later on where a party's held and I can get them to dance or something... 


	20. Tides Turn

**Phase 20: Tides Turn**

It was almost sundown, and the sky was filled with as many colors as the rainbow itself.

"Isn't it pretty, Ai?" Shani questioned, still holding onto her hand. "Now this is what I'd call a perfect sunset."

"Yeah... It really is..." she replied as she continued to admire the array of colors. "You know, this is my first time ever seeing one." she said as she looked over to him with a cheerful smile. "I'm glad that I get to see it with you..." She leaned onto Shani a bit as she tried to stay awake, the whole day had taken quite a lot out of the child but she did not want to give in just yet. 'These colors...' she thought to herself as she gazed deeply to the sky. 'I never knew they could all exist together...'

_The sun sets over the ocean waves  
As the night stars return  
The moon shines in it's splendid grace  
As it floats above the earth _

_It casts a spell on all those who  
Gaze up at the night sky  
As the palm tree begin to sway  
And the wind slowly subsides_

_You can hear the melody of a million heart beats  
And the breathing of another as they drift off to sleep  
The sound of crickets chirping  
In the place that never stops_

She said softly as she was barely able to keep her eyes open.

"It's the only thing I can remember..." was the last thing she could make out before her exhaustion beat her tired little body.

'_About my past...'_'

Shani was listening to Ai's words until he noticed that the girl had become quite fatigued.

"Oh Ai...you gotta stop wearing yourself out like that..." Shani whispered, gently cradling the child in his arms. He also noticed that he was also becoming quite exhausted. "What a day..." he muttered to no one in particular. 'I guess we'd better get back and get some rest.' he thought to himself, taking one last look at the radiant sunset. He then started to trot back to the mansion, his pace constantly varying due to his fatigue. He stopped for a moment to catch his breath. "Ai...you're so innocent..." Shani whispered, gazing at the child in his arms. "And I intend to keep you that way..."

* * *

**--flashback--**

"So, he's your latest catch?" questioned a scientist, gesturing to a frail and sickly looking teen sitting in the corner. He had a hopeless look in his eyes, with his legs chained together and his hands cuffed.

"Yeah, he had quite the struggle, looked like he wanted nothing more than to kill us..." grumbled a guard.

"I see, so that's why he was of no more use to society?" the scientist asked once more.

"Yes, this one's had lots of crimes on his head, he would've died on death row anyways..." explained another guard.

"Ah, maybe he won't die like the others did..." the scientist muttered. "Go! Leave me! I'd like to get started..." the scientist commanded.

"Be careful, he's a vicious little bastard." remarked one of the guards before walking out the door.

"Don't worry, once I 'break' him, he'll be nothing more that a sad little object." the scientist replied. His attention then shifted to the teen still sitting in the corner, glaring at him. The scientist walked over and hauled him across the room and roughly tossed him onto the operating table. "Why aren't you scared stiff and screaming like all the others?" the scientist interrogated. "Don't you know what's going to happen to you?"

"Just fuck off and leave me alone..." muttered the teen, who was still glaring daggers at the scientist.

"Hmph...we'll see what happens..." the scientist grumbled, not even bothering with the proper anesthetics before grabbing the knife. It was then that the teen's eyes widened, but before he could protest a gag was bound over his mouth. "We can't have you screaming..." the scientist muttered sadistically.

**--end flashback--**

* * *

Ai was sound asleep in the pilots arms, her breathing clam for the first time in a long while. 'I've never felt this way before...' she thought in her mind as she could feel Shani's warm touch.

"Don't... forget..."

* * *

**--flashback--**

"Get her out of my sight!" shouted the man as he threw the documents aside. "I've never seen such a beastly thing!" The soldiers came into the room as they hauled the ripped and torn child from the testing area. Her arms were covered in scars and her body had no more energy left to provide for her. Everything soon became black as the world around her disappeared. On the way to the cell the soldiers encountered the 'new' test subjects who were undergoing more 'treatments'.

"Disgusting little vermin." muttered one of the soldiers as they sent a horrible stare to them. They then continued on their way and went about their daily routine of locking the girl up tightly, not paying any mind to the wounds.

Later that night she was visited by someone who had cloaked themselves in the shadows. the guards had left their posts for the night and all was silent. Ai was in a corner, huddled up for warmth as usual trying to keep her grip on reality. She was merely four years old but it didn't seem to phase the people around her. The person in the corner was a young boy who was staring intently at her, she couldn't make out who he was but she could tell he was there. Nonetheless she hadn't spoken a word to anyone ever since she arrived, nor did she ever utter a sound, so she wasn't about to up and talk to this new stranger. She was still somehow drawn to her presence as she decided to perk her head up to see if they would respond. It was all in vain, however as footsteps soon approached and the boy fled the area.

**--end flashback--**

* * *

Shani suddenly snapped out of his memories of the past, after hearing Ai's faint voice. He had noticed just how long he had been standing there and how late it was getting. 'Oh no! I said I was just gonna be gone for a little while! Shit! I gotta get going now!' he frantically thought. He then dashed towards the manor, trying to keep Ai as comfortable as possible.

Meanwhile inside the mansion, a conversation was going on.

"Where are they? Shani told us that it was just going to be for an hour..." Orga muttered.

"What if something happened to them?" Nicol questioned.

"Let's go look for them." Athrun suggested. Everyone nodded in agreement and then went outside to search for Ai and Shani.

"Hey! Where the hell are you!" Crot hollered.

"This is no time to be playing pranks Shani!" Orga shouted.

"Where are you?" Cagalli yelled, hoping to find the missing peoples. It was then that Shani had stumbled back onto the front section where he caught the pilot's attention. Everyone froze at the sight of Ai in Shani's hands.

"J-Just what are you doing?" Dearka stammered.

"What happened to her!" Cagalli demanded. Shani was suddenly bombarded with unwanted questions as he was getting quite flustered. Ai awoke to all of the commotion cause by the others. She rubbed her eyes and tried to focused in on what was going on around her. Noticing she was being held by someone she tried not to move to much as she found it to be Shani.

"Oh... Hello everyone..." she said weakly as she gave them another smile. "Sorry we're... late..." She was still trying to fight her tired body, though she didn't need much more rest to recover. Making her way from within Shani's arms she stood down beside him, trying to keep her balance. "You don't have to worry about me so much-.." Her words cut out as her body won the battle yet again and she began to fall. 'Who was he...?' she thought as old memories flashed in her mind before things went black again.

* * *

**--flashback--**

Every night the boy would come to visit Ai in her cell. Every night he would stay in that same place, hiding his true self from her just before the soldiers came back. And every night she would always wonder; 'Just who is he..?'. Yet she would never find that answer as one fateful day came...

"We're under attack!" yelled one of the officers rushing to get the soldiers guarding Ai for assistance. Alarms were blaring through the area as everyone and everything was in a huge panic. The commotion had awakened Ai as she approached the bars, her hands and legs still bound together. Placing her hands on the bars she peered outside of her cell only to find the area deserted. The only thing stopping her now were the bars and chains.

"Hey..." came a voice from the side of the cell. Ai turned her head to face the direction of the noise only to see a very familiar shadowed figure. "I'm going to get you out of here..." he said intently as he entered in a code and the doors opened up. Ai fell to the ground struggling to get the restrictions off of her. Just then another boy entered the room from another door and rushed over to the one who had helped Ai.

"What do you think you're doing!" interrogated the other as he grabbed hold of him. He stopped as he saw Ai on the floor bound by the chains. "What the hell..?"

"That's right, now help me out here!" yelled the boy as he took a pistol from the ground that a soldier had dropped. "Hold still!" he commanded as he shot the restraints off of her. When Ai tried to thank the boys she found herself to be completely unable to speak. It had seemed that she had muted herself for so long her body was not quite used to the fact.

"Dammit, come on we have to get out of here now before they notice!" shouted the other boy as he rushed back to the place from which he came. His friend stayed behind and helped Ai to her feet.

"Get going now, there's an exit over that way you can make it out in time if you go now. Hurry!" he said as he ushered Ai over to the hidden escape. Ai tried her hardest to speak but nothing would come out. Soon the soldiers footsteps could be heard coming closer and closer as the boy finally forced Ai out of the door. "Save yourself!"

"P-... promise!" shouted Ai as the door closed abruptly and for the first time she saw the face of her savior. She shook it off as soon as the doors shut as she made her way to safety and awaited to be rescued from her new predicament. All the while trying to keep those images from disappearing along with her past.

**--end flashback--**

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Yeah, this is the one part I mentioned about the important flashbacks, that is if you followed them enough. But yes, the flashbacks give you guys some input on just what sort of things happened to her when she was younger. How deeply tragic, and yet I refuse to let her remember any of it, at least for the time being. It keeps things interesting that way, that or at least more original. Yay for reaching 20! How accomplished this makes me feel, though I know there's a lot more to come. Well, at least another 15 or so! 


	21. Providence Strikes

**Phase 21: Providence Strikes**

"Here I go again..." Shani muttered, catching the girl before she fell to the ground. 'Whew, safe and sound...now about my explanation...' Shani thought. "Uh...you know, it's not what you think! I swear! Nothing happened!" Shani remarked, still holding onto Ai.

"Very convincing..." Orga chuckled.

"What? Hey! She would have fell if it weren't for me!" Shani retorted with a very bitter look on his face. Suddenly shockwaves shook the manor.

"What!" Cagalli exclaimed.

"Those are missals!" Dearka remarked.

"Damn! What now!" Yzak grumbled.

"We have to stop this!" Kira remarked. "ORB is full of innocent people!"

"Then let's get our asses out there!" Crot yelled.

"Right behind you." stated everyone else.

"Ai, you gotta wake up! We need all the help we can get!" Shani urged, hoping that the sleeping girl would open her eyes. The others went on ahead and began to get suited up.

Ai shook off her exhaustion as she heard a familiar voice. Her eyes sprung open at the feeling of another shockwave. She jumped up to her feet in surprise as she immediately glanced around every which way.

"Wh- What's going on!" she shouted dazed and confused. It was then that she finally pieced things together and saw a battle raging in the distance. She nodded to Shani as she followed along with the others to get suited up for the battle. 'To protect... that's my choice now..' she thought to herself as she made her way into Cerberus' cockpit.

"Okay, we've got some serious work to do!" she shouted to the machine as she readied herself and launched onto the battlefield, though she was way behind from the others. 'What is this..?' she thought to herself as she saw ZAFT's forces advancing on her friends. 'This is insane, why would they be attacking?' she continued to question as she closed in on some nearby units and shot them down before they could get any closer, all completely nonfatal as was her specialty.

"Hey are you guys alright out there?" she questioned as she tried to keep her area under control, though she was having a rough time with her current state of health. 'I don't know how much longer I can take this...' she thought to herself trying not to let her fatigue show to her friends or the enemy. 'Wait... What's that-..!' she gasped as an unknown mobile attacked her from out of nowhere and shot Cerberus into the water. Ai retaliated and charged the mobile as Cerberus burst from under the water, though it was a failed attempt due to Ai's non-killing tactics.

"Ah-... ! Cer-... Cerberus!" she shouted trying to regain control over the Gundam as she tried to shake off the oncoming barrage from the new unit attacking her. 'I can't shake these things off, what is it!' she thought as she desperately tried to dodge them but was hit dead on as her Gundam received a high level of damage. 'My systems are going critical and I can barely keep up with him... Why did it have to be now..?' Ai was now completely open to fire and all it would take was a few more blows to take her down. Any other time here skills and performance would have been flawless but so much had been going on lately her body and mind just couldn't keep up. The secret to her fighting was the fact that she could synchronize herself with Cerberus and any other mobile depending on their capabilities but in order to do so she would have to be in good health, which was beyond her reach.

"Can't be..." she said as her eyes widened at the sight of the enemy getting ready to finish her Gundam off. Ai was completely helpless now, all she could do was wait for whatever was about to happen. Taking hold of her pendant she took a deep breath.

'_Please don't let it end this way... I have to keep... my promise...'_

"What the hell is that!" Yzak remarked as he saw an unknown signal in Duel's sensors.

"I dunno, but it's wiping the floor with us!" Dearka exclaimed. The new unit immediately began to fire at the opposing Gundams. Everything was thrown into a frenzy as lasers covered the field. Shani managed to get Forbidden's Panzer system working and deflected some of the shots right back. It was then that he noticed Ai, about to become prey to another unit.

"Leave her alone!" Shani growled, ramming Forbidden into the unit with brute force. It seemed to have caught the attention of the new Gundam for it then focused it's attack on the Forbidden.

"What kind of unit is that? I've never seen anything like it before..." Athrun pondered, still trying to keep the ZAFT units at bay. Forbidden was having a hard time trying to hold off the Gundam, for it had stopped with it's laser barrage and had now begun to use physical force, which therefore, makes Forbidden's Panzer system useless.

"Hey! Who the fuck are you! Answer me! And what the hell is that Gundam!" Shani demanded, noting that Forbidden's energy was down to a minimum.

"Oh...you need not ask those questions...it will not matter where you are going..." came a voice from the other end of the com. system.

"Oh screw you! I never should've asked anyways!" Shani retorted, swinging it's scythe towards the unit's cockpit, intending to end their confrontation. However, the Gundam was one step ahead and retaliated with a strike from his beam sword, slicing the scythe an half and blasting the shield deflectors off of Forbidden. "Wh-What did you do?" Shani stammered, seeing how fast his Gundam had been wasted.

"You see? You are nothing..." stated the unknown pilot, who dealed another blow to Forbidden, sending the green Gundam plummeting into the ocean.

"Shani!" Orga remarked, seeing what had happened to the other Gundam. "You'll pay for that you sniveling bastard!" Calamity rushed in, firing rounds from it's cannon at the same time.

"More? I thought that you would learn after you saw what happened to your friend..." taunted the pilot.

"Shut up! I don't need your witty comments!" Orga growled, trying to focus on the Gundam he was trying to shoot down. The Gundam reacted by firing a cage of lasers around Calamity, trapping the Gundam. "Let me out! Damn! Some cheap trick this is!" Orga sneered, trying in vain to get Calamity free.

"Oh, you think that this is some mere trick!" the pilot retorted. "I'll show you!" Immediately, the lasers closed in on Calamity, destroying most of the Gundam's weapons and sending the downed unit tumbling onto the mainland.

"Hey, what gives?" Dearka remarked, seeing the other Gundam demolished.

"That's no ordinary unit... Keep your guard up, who knows what the hell a unit like that could do..." Crot stated.

"Fine, then let's all attack at once!" Yzak suggested.

"Maybe then we can destroy this Gundam." Dearka muttered. The three Gundams positioned themselves for a direct attack and charged in for the strike. The unit easily evaded the planned attack and launched one of his own, having the lasers trail the Gundams until there's nothing left.

"These things, they keep following us!" Yzak growled.

"We can't keep dodging these..." Dearka mumbled. Crot had shifted Raider to it's mobile armor form and was busy trying to fire back at the homing lasers. Pretty soon, all three of the Gundams had been disabled by the lasers.

Meanwhile, Aegis, Strike and Blitz, who had been trying to keep the ZAFT forces away, found that they were the only one's left on the battlefield, not to mention Ai's Cerberus being almost destroyed. They all turned to face the Gundam and rushed in to deal a blow. The Gundam seemed to have anticipated all three of their moves and dished out counter measures for all of them.

"You guys...make sure that Ai doesn't get hurt..." Nicol murmured, as Blitz was sent crashing to the ground, with no energy left to spare.

"Nicol!" Athrun hollered.

"Athrun, we have to focus on bringing down that unit..." Kira reminded.

"Yes...I know." Athrun replied, bring Aegis around for another strike.

"I've had enough of your games, come at me so I can end your misery!" exclaimed the other pilot. Both the Aegis and the Strike rushed in, only to be confronted by lasers and brought down, with several severed limbs in the process.

"We can't lose...not here...not now." Kira murmured, trying desperately to get the system back online, but to no avail. The Gundam then turned to face Cerberus.

"Now where were we? Oh right, I was about to destroy you..." the pilot stated, advancing towards the crippled unit.

Ai watched in horror as all of her friend's Gundams were sent crashing down and she was left wide open for attack. Her body felt cold and she felt helpless as the unknown enemy closed in to her. 'No... It can't...' she thought, her hands shaking as she attempted to do something. 'It can't end this way!'

"I won't let you hurt any more people!" she shouted as a sudden feeling came over the young pilot. It was as if she had experienced a second wind as she struck down the unit. Mobilizing her blades the fires from before engulfed the unit as it spiraled down and took out the Gundam's weaponry. Ai continued her ruthless assault on the enemy, never backing down as Cerberus was slowly losing it's bearings. It was as if some unknown force had taken over her that very moment, performing near impossible feats in her condition. The pilot, however, noticed her sudden change and reacted to it as he finally was able to shake Ai off. Using his remaining energy he restrained Ai's Cerberus ready to press a single button if need be.

"Get off me!" she sneered as her uncontrollable rage continued to flare. Cerberus tried as best it could to shake the unit off but they fought a losing fight. Ai's strength combine with the Cerberus was beginning to waiver and as her rage continued it had begun to drop dramatically. The pilot laughed menacingly as he readied his ploy. Her eyes widened in disbelief as she returned to normal finally realizing his plot. 'No...' she thought as she finally shook off the unwanted unit only to find that Cerberus had lost all power. 'I can't move...'

"Cerberus!" she shouted desperately trying to get movement from the unit. Nothing worked, all of her energy had been depleted. Ai was helpless now as the unit closed in with one intention in mind; take the child down...

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Well this one was quite a big project. Especially if you look closely, you can tell who did most of the writing in this one, huh? Anyway, for those of you who couldn't figure out what exactly it was they were fighting it's the Providence. And for those of you who misread some of the pilots' comments, they're all still A-L-I-V-E! 


	22. The Last Resort

**Phase 22: The Last Resort**

Everything seemed hopeless as the pilots watched from their monitors, unable to do a thing to help.

"Hey! Take me! Leave the poor thing out of this!" Nicol remarked.

"Yeah, and me too, just get your fucked up hands off of her!" Crot added.

"Leave her out of this! She only wants peace! I'll take her place!" Kira remarked.

"We'll all take her place! Leave her alone!" Athrun shouted. More shouts and attempts to stop the attack kept coming, but the pilot seemed intent on killing the small child.

"Well, it's such a shame to see life wasted, especially at such a young age too..." he murmured.

"Don't do it!" Dearka pleaded.

"The time is now, so watch as your precious friend dies right in front of you!" he remarked.

"No! I won't let you!" a voice interrupted. A blur shot out of the water and struck the Gundam with a kick, knocking it off of Cerberus.

"Insolent being! How dare you attempt to foil my plot!" growled the pilot.

"Fuck off and go to hell bitch!" Shani retorted, making Forbidden lunge for the other Gundam.

"You cannot stop me!" he cried out as he pinned Forbidden down and engulfed Cerberus in a sea of lasers.

"Oh no, Ai! Get out of there now!" Shani pleaded, watching as the lasers began to close in.

"I'm sorry..." she said softly as tears began to stream from her clouded eyes. Cerberus came back to life at the sweet sound of the child's voice as it broke free from the lasers and charged the unit. Breaking Forbidden free, Ai continued her advance on the Gundam until they had both been taken far from the others. 'They're all safe now...' she thought happily as the tears continued to flow. Cerberus then grappled onto the unit, sinking it's fangs and claws in so that it could not escape. Ai came over the eight pilot's monitors, as she moved her hand over slowly to on specific place in her cockpit. Her image on the screens was blurred and her transmission was not very clear but she went along her way.

"Crot, Orga, Yzak, Dearka, Nicol, Athrun, Kira... thank you all so much... It's finally time I returned all of your favors..." her words were becoming choked and the fact that the pilot had begun to try and struggle free from Cerberus only continued to make things harder. "And Shani... I'm sorry I couldn't live up to that promise... all of you... So..." she stopped as it had become to much for the young girl to take.

Cutting off the video transmission only her voice could be heard now. The unit had nearly broken free from Cerberus' clutches and at that moment Ai did the only thing she could do. Closing her eyes tightly and bracing herself for what was about to happen she hit the button as Cerberus and the unknown unit were thus engulfed in a fiery explosion. The skies turned red as it cried out in ashes and rain began to fall as if triggered by this chain of events.

"_Goodbye..."_

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Wow, this has got to be the shortest chapter out of the entire story so far. And of course I had to go and make it the most dramatic! Oh Ai... Poor thing, all she wants to do is help them... But of course the story must go on! I think... 


	23. Aftereffects

**Phase 23: Aftereffects **

The pilots stared in pure horror and disbelief as the ball of fire engulfed the two units.

"Ai! Ai! No!" Shani hollered through the com. system, trying to get any response whatsoever from the child. The only thing that came through the com. system was the distinct sound of static.

"Oh no..." Kira murmured, a sickening feeling nearly overwhelming him.

"Dammit! Ai! Answer me! Say something!" Shani yelled, nearly on the brink of hysteria.

"This can't be happening..." Athrun muttered hanging his head, staring blankly at the control panel. The intense flames were still licking at the remains of the units.

"I'm sorry...right now there's just nothing we can do...as a representative of ORB, I must ask that you retreat." Cagalli stated over the com. system, her voice reflecting the sorrow she felt in her heart.

"No, I won't! I have to find her! What if she's still alive!" Shani detested, not willing to accept the fact of their loss. His attempt was made futile for Raider and Calamity restrained him from making any further movement.

"Shani! Listen, Cagalli's right! What help are you to Ai if you end up getting hurt in the process!" Orga reasoned, still trying to restrain the rebellious pilot.

"Why...I-It's all my fault..." Shani groaned, burying his head in his arms.

"She was way too young...it wasn't her time..." Dearka commented, trying to restrain himself from doing anything reckless. The Gundams made their way to the hangar in near shambles of their former shadows, torn by the effects of war.

"Ai...please come back..." Nicol whimpered, trying to stop the tears that were threatening to flow.

"I'll make sure they pay..." Yzak muttered through clenched teeth and fists. It seemed as if an aura of sorrow had overtaken the pilots as they trudged back to the Archangel and dismounted their Gundams. Mwu and Murrue were standing slightly to the side, their faces displaying their feelings.

"We heard what happened out there..." Murrue murmured, wiping some tears away from her face. The pilots trudged past, giving glances of regret, despair and gloomy nods. They retreated to their rooms where they continued to further mourn the loss of the child who had became such a significant part of their lives. Although the quiet didn't last long, for a commotion could be heard coming from one of the rooms...

"Why, why, why! It should've been me!" Shani hysterically shouted, trying to thrash himself in the process.

"Please calm down! It won't help right now! You can't change what's been done!" Nicol reasoned, trying to get the other pilot to come to his senses.

"I was so close! I failed! Can't you see that! She would've still been alive if it wasn't for me!" Shani retorted, flinging another object across the room, nearly hitting Nicol in the process. That was when the rest of the pilots came bursting into the room.

"Enough!" Athrun shouted, "I know it hurts, it does for us all..."

Everything became silent in the room.

"Leave me alone..." Shani muttered, his face tilted to the floor.

"But Shani..." Orga protested.

"Get out! Just leave me alone..." Shani replied, gesturing for them to get out.

"Come on Nicol, you can stay with us for tonight." Dearka whispered. Everyone filed out of the room leaving Shani standing alone.

'My fault...my fault...' Shani chanted in his mind, throwing himself onto the bed and curling up, uncontrolled tears sliding down his face.

"I'm a failure...just an experiment gone wrong..." he murmured before falling into an uneasy sleep.

* * *

**--flashback--**

'She's safe now.' thought the boy as he looked back to where he had left her to escape. The other two boys reappeared in the hall.

"We have to get out of here!" hollered one of them, a slight twinge of fear showing in his cobalt eyes.

"How? There's not enough time!" another retorted, giving the first a cold look.

"Well, if we have to burn in this decrepit place, then we may as well. We would've died anyways, right?" commented the boy.

"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure about burning and dying here..." came a voice.

"Who the hell are you!" growled one of the boys, giving the man a hard glare with his emerald eyes.

"I could help you, even save you, only if you promise to work for me..." he sneered. With time ticking away, the boys hastily made their choice.

"Fine, we'll go, just promise to get us out of this." stated one of the boys, still glaring at the man from underneath his bangs.

"Good, my name is Muruta Azrael, and from now on, you're my property..." remarked the man.

**--end flashback--**

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Aw... Shani's gone and torn himself up over what happened. How tragic it is... Taking the other unit down, but at what expense..? I've noticed that in Seed no pilot ever thinks those types of things through, so I thought I might as well make it happen in this one too. Don't worry, there's still more stuff to come. Comments please! I BEG OF YOU! 


	24. Regained Hope

**Phase 24: Regained Hope**

'_Where am I...?'  
'Is it even possible...?'  
'Am I... still alive..?'_

Opening her eyes ever so slowly she bore witness to a bright flash of light as the sun was clear in view. Ai was covered in bandages, her wounds healing. 'How..?' she thought as she lay there helplessly. 'How can I possibly still be alive!'

Tears streamed down her tired face as the realization of what she had done sunk into her innocent mind. The images of her friends flashed before her. 'They... They risked everything...!'

Grasping onto the bed sheets tightly she fought the burning pain in and all over her body. What had she done? They didn't deserve any of it. She could feel it, all of it. The pain they each suffered all at her hands. 'I'm so sorry...'

"Haro!" came a strange voice from her beside. Ai stopped as she gently turned her head to the voice. It was a pink Haro who had wondered it's way over to her. Ai tilted her head in curiousity as she watched the object roll circles around the area beside her. Wiping the tears from her eyes she let out a small, weak smile. She stopped as a brief chill ran down her spine. Springing from her position she immediately felt around her neck only to find it missing.

"I-... it's gone..!" she said softly to herself as she fell back down into the bed. 'Can't be...' she thought as she turned away from the little pink ball of energy.

"Ai..." came a familiar voice echoing in her mind. It brought back all of what had happened in previous times to her.

* * *

"_Are you okay? You should've left when I told you to..."  
"I'm sorry... But I have a job to do, and I can't leave until I finish it."  
"Eh? A job? Well, I'm just gonna say that in my damned opinion that no friggin job is worth dying over, you're so friggin young..." _

"_So, what's your name anyways?"  
"It's Aiorem, Aiorem Heiwa... or just Ai, if you'd like..." "I'm afraid I never caught your name..."  
"The name's Shani Andras, nothing much to it..."_

"_I'm sorry..."  
"Shani..." "I-I..." "Please don't... don't be sorry...!" "Don't... don't be sad anymore..."  
"But Ai...I could have hurt you..."  
"You didn't know... it's not your fault... so don't.." "Please don't go!" "I don't want to be alone..." "Not again... not like before..."  
"I'll never leave you...I've been alone for too long." "I'll stay here, by your side, I won't leave and disappear..."_

"_Isn't it pretty, Ai?" "Now this is what I'd call a perfect sunset."  
"Yeah... It really is..." "You know, this is my first time ever seeing one." "I'm glad that I get to see it with you..." "It's the only thing I can remember..." "Oh Ai...you gotta stop wearing yourself out like that..." "Ai...you're so innocent..." "And I intend to keep you that way..."_

"_Oh no, Ai! Get out of there now!"  
"I'm sorry..." "Crot, Orga, Yzak, Dearka, Nicol, Athrun, Kira... thank you all so much... It's finally time I returned all of your favors..." "And Shani... I'm sorry I couldn't live up to that promise... all of you... So..." "Goodbye..."_

* * *

"Shani... Please come back..." she whispered softly as she dug her face into the pillow to try and conceal her inner turmoil from the world.

"Haro! Haro! We have a problem!" said the machine as it began to bounce up and down trying to get someone's attention.

"What is it Pink-chan?" questioned a young girl who had suddenly appeared right beside Ai's bed. The little pink mechanical ball gestured towards the frail girl on the bed and began bouncing once more.

"Haro! Haro!" urged the tiny machine. "Oh! You're awake!" exclaimed the girl. "I was so worried when I found you in that field of debris! By the way, my name is Lacus Clyne." A man made his way over to the two girls.

"Are you well?" he questioned, his voice was gentle and full of understanding.

"Reverend Malchio, she looks distressed..." Lacus commented, showing her concern for the girl.

"She has been through tough times." Reverend Malchio stated.

"I see..." Lacus replied. "If you need anything, please don't hesitate to ask."

* * *

Meanwhile, back on the Archangel, the lights had been dimmed and mostly everyone was already asleep. Shani was still curled up and slightly sobbing. 'Everything feels cold...' he thought to himself. 'It won't ever be the same.' He slowly eased himself to the edge of the bed, feeling as if someone had ripped him in two. An image of Ai flashed in his mind.

"Why? Why does it have to hurt so much?" he questioned, knowing very well that he wasn't about to get an answer. He sat there for awhile, stuck in his reverie of the times when Ai's sweet smile seemed to make everyone happy. Noting the time on the clock he decided that enough was enough for tonight and crawled back onto his bed and curled up once more, still thinking about the innocent little girl in which he had lost.

* * *

"Where am I..?" she asked as she eased herself off of the pillow and sat up in the bed. Facing them both with a questioning look she began once more as she cleared her throat. "Last I remember I was in a battle when..." Ai began to piece everything together in her mind as she took a few moments to contemplate. "Wait! The Archangel, and the battle... What happened to the others and my Gundam!" she questioned, trying not to sound hysterical as she took a deep breath.

"Haro! Problem, problem!" ranted the machine as it hopped into Ai's lap. Ai stopped her questioning as she looked down at the machine. She noticed something very familiar about the design of the Haro that caught her attention. Her eyes widened as what she was thinking about finally got through.

"Athrun!" she gasped as she took gentle hold of the ball. "Did Athrun make this? Is he here with the others!" Ai asked as a bit of hope shone in the child's desperate voice. What she really wanted more than anything at that moment was to hear their voices. To be able to know that everything was going to be okay, that they were all safe. Letting go of the Haro sprung from the girl's lap and into Lacus' arms.

"Athrun! Problem!" shouted the machine as it flashed and moved from her arms as it hovered in circles. Ai took the time to collect herself once more as she wished to make a more sensible first impression.

"Excuse me for the questions. I am Aiorem Heiwa or Ai for short. Thank you for taking me in." she said as she bowed, still in the bed. "I was with a few others before the battle, I don't suppose you know them?" she asked as she tilted her head slightly. Footsteps could be heard approaching nearby, but Ai could not really notice as she continued searching for an answer.

"You know Athrun?" Lacus asked, a glint of curiosity shown through her eyes. "I know of him, but no other pilots though... You're here in my private sanctuary, I suppose you could call it an Eden, if you wish. Although we did find some parts from some other units scattered throughout the beach. Maybe they fell off of your friend's units during battle, I could show you later once you're feeling better. For now you should get some rest." She started to walk off, but abruptly stopped and turned around. "I'm sure your friends are okay, and if destiny allows it, you'll meet with them again." she stated with a warm smile on her face. "How about I go fetch you some tea? You look parched." She then continued off, leaving Ai alone in the peaceful setting.

Shortly after, another Haro jumped up onto Ai's lap, followed by another and another until about a dozen Haro's were bouncing up and down, surrounding Ai in a flurry of color.

"Haro! Haro!" they happily exclaimed.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Yeah, Ai has officially taken Kira's place! I never really thought it through but the situations I put her in always end up seeming similar to those that happen to Kira. But hey, at least she's still alive! (No big surprise there, huh?) 


	25. The Clyne Estate

**Phase 25: The Clyne Estate**

An announcement pierced the still air in the Archangel.

"Attention all crew! We will be leaving Onogoro for some other place of repair. It seems that our stay here in ORB has expired. We do thank you for your patience." came Murrue's voice over the intercom. Shani was still lying around in his room, lost in thoughts that just weren't meant to be. The door slid open as all of the pilots walked in.

"Shani, you know you can't just shut yourself in like this..." Crot reasoned.

"You haven't come out of this room since. You can't keep on doing this to yourself..." Athrun added.

"No...I won't." Shani weakly muttered, still keeping his face hidden from the other pilots.

"At least come and get something to eat, you'll just end up killing yourself at this rate!" Yzak remarked.

"And who says that's not a good thing?" Shani questioned.

"Stop saying shit like that! Come on! It's been who knows how long!" Orga commented.

"Leave now...how many times must I tell you?" Shani grumbled, burying his head into his pillow and grabbing his handgun out and blindly aimed it.

"Whoa...alright, alright! We're leaving." Dearka yelped, edging out the door along with the other pilots.

"We have to help him...he can't keep this up anymore...he's gonna make himself sick..." Kira murmured.

"I know, but what can we do?" Nicol asked, walking down the hall with the other pilots.

"Maybe when we get to this new place...well, let's just say that the new change in scenery may help." Dearka added. They walked the rest of the way down the hall in complete silence.

Ai smiled happily at the Haros as they showered her with their happy chants. 'They remind me of the others...' she thought as she took the time to remember all of their smiling faces. She let out a slight laugh as she continued to smile.

"Haro, Haro! Company!" they shouted as they made their way from the bed and followed in Lacus' wake. Ai got herself out of the bed and edged her way after them. She was still covered in bandages but the fact that she could still walk was all she needed. Something caught her attention as she heard the sound of an object approaching the quieted area. 'That sound...' she thought, turning her gaze. 'Could it possibly be..?' Her eyes widened in hope as she dashed toward the area in which the noise was coming from, though there was a limp in her stride, she continued onward in hope.

"We have now arrived in the Clyne Estate. They have kindly offered to repair everything in need of repairs onboard the Archangel." Murrue stated over the intercom. "While we are here, you may wander around for a bit and stretch your legs."

"Finally, let's go." Yzak muttered, strolling off the ship. All of the other pilots followed in suit.

"Orga, what about Shani?" Crot whispered.

"We just have to give him some time..." Orga replied, a worried expression crossing his face at the thought of the other pilot, but he quickly shook it off, knowing that he'd probably try something reckless if they were to attempt anything again. Lacus came to greet the captain and her crew as soon as they set foot onto the estate.

"Welcome, please, make yourselves at home here." she stated, still holding Pink-chan in her arms.

"Hello Lacus, it's been awhile hasn't it?" Athrun questioned, coming forward from the crowd of soldiers.

"Oh my, Athrun! It's been so long, I thought something might've happened to you!" she exclaimed, overjoyed to see that he was alright. Everyone began to move around the estate, weather it be wandering or just taking in the breathtaking view that the estate offered.

Meanwhile, Shani was still lying around on the bed. 'Now that everyone's left, I can be alone...' Shani thought, closing his eyes, not wanting to think about anything at the moment, until the flap of wings could be heard.

"Birdy!" came the voice of the small mechanical pet.

"Ugh...not you again..." Shani growled, disgust lining his voice. "This isn't the time, now get out!"

But the small bird remained persistent and kept flying around the room making little noises.

"Argh...That's it! Dammit! I said that this isn't the time!" Shani hollered, pulling out his handgun, he began to fire at the machine. Birdy narrowly dodged each shot and flew out of the room. "Oh no you don't, not this fucking time!" Shani sneered, grabbing his uniform and pulling it over his shirt before running out the door following the small thing he labeled a 'pest'. Birdy led him off of the Archangel and into a garden, where it had gotten him lost in the array of flowers. "Damned hunk of scrap metal..." Shani muttered, trying to get free of the bushels and bushels of flowers. He heard a rustling noise coming from the side and stumbled towards it, aiming his gun at whatever the source of the noise was. "It's time to die you pathetic lit-.." he grumbled until he fell out into a clearing where he saw the source of the noise. It turned out that it wasn't Birdy at all...

"Oh my god...A-Ai...is it really you?" he sputtered, dropping his handgun and running over to the small child before him. Birdy was happily flapping above them and dropped the charm it was holding in between them. Ai ignored the pendant as she froze in place at the sound of the voice. Her eyes widened in disbelief as she looked up at him. Tears began to flow from her tired eyes as she took a few steps closer to him.

"Sh... Shani..." she whispered softly as she stopped dead in her tracks. Shivers were running through the child as the feeling was beginning to overwhelm her. She had still not fully recovered and shouldn't have even been out of bed let alone wandering around but she ignored the feeling. All that mattered to her now, all that she ever wished for that moment she let her ideal take over, was that he was here, safe and sound. "Shani!" she shouted in joy as she ran into his arms and held onto him tightly. Her tears began to consume her once more as her breathing became unsteady. "It's you... it's really you...!" she muttered as she laid her head against his chest. "I-... I'm so sorry... Sorry that I made you sad..." Burying herself in his uniform she continued to cry as her whole body was shaken. She could still barely stand but continued to use all of her remaining strength to show him how much she cared. How much she missed him...

Birdy took flight once more and wandered to the others as it went to get their attention. Flapping it's mechanical wings loudly it fluttered over them.

"Birdy, Birdy!" shouted the machine as it made it's way onto Kira's shoulder. It continued to make a fuss as it awaited an answer from the others.

"This is General Ayusagi reporting, what is it Ensign?"

"Sir, it's the legged ship we've been hearing so much about. I think I've located it!"

"Did you say the legged ship? Hm..."

"General?"

"Right then, we will arrive shortly for back up. Ensign, I'm counting on you to retrieve the units."

"Yes sir!"

"Oh, and make sure to be more careful this time. We don't need to have any more 'incidents' now do we?"

"Heh, don't worry! I never miss my mark!"

"Good luck then, Ensign Heiwa."

**Author's Notes:** The reunion most of you probably already saw coming! Oh well, it was worth it all to get this far. (Don't think this means that it's over either!) I'm sure most of you have questions about that last part; questions of which will be cleared up later on. Trust me, they will be!


	26. Treasured Life

**Phase 26: Treasured Life**

"Birdy, what's gotten into you? Is something wrong with your programing?" Athrun asked, trying to see why it was throwing such a huge fuss.

"Well, it looks like it seems intent on making you go wherever it wants to go." Nicol commented, seeing how the tiny bird kept tugging at the fabric on Kira's uniform.

"Alright Birdy, you win, I'm coming." Kira stated, letting the little mechanical bird have it's way. Birdy flew over to the other remaining pilots and began it's little fuss all over again.

"Heh, I guess that means you don't get to stand around all day." Athrun chuckled, seeing Birdy trying to get the others to come with it.

"I guess it must be important then?" Yzak questioned, trying to get away from the tiny bird.

"Just do it!" Crot grumbled, giving Yzak a shove forward.

"Birdy! Birdy!" it chirped, leading the group of puzzled pilots into the thick and dense garden.

"Are you sure it wants to show us something? Or is it just trying to find a nice quiet place to kill us?" Orga remarked, trying to get the branches out of his face.

"That's more of something you'd do..." Crot commented.

"Oh shut up!" Orga growled, threatening to strangle the arrogant pilot. When they reached the small clearing, everything had become clear as soon as the heart warming scene graced their eyes. Shani and Ai were locked in a tight embrace, both crying tears of joy at the sight of the other.

"Oh Ai, you're here, it's really you..." Shani whispered, trying to stop his crying, but finding that to be an impossible feat at the moment. The group of pilots couldn't take it anymore and rushed over, each of them trying to get at Ai. It was a smothered version of a group hug...

"Ai! We missed you so much!" Nicol exclaimed.

"We thought you were gone for good!" Dearka remarked.

"We're all so glad you're okay!" Kira added.

"I can't tell you how relieved I am!" Athrun gasped, trying to recover from the shocking discovery that Ai was still alive and well on her way to recovery. Everything was filled with happiness that seemed like it would last forever, everything in that instant was perfect, and nothing else in the world mattered to any of the pilots. Ai was overjoyed to see them all, to hear every word of happy rejoice and to feel their heartfelt embrace. The tears kept streaming from her innocent eyes as a glimmer from the ground caught her attention. As the embrace of the group gently lossened she crouched down on the ground only to find her long lost pendant. Placing it around her neck and out of sights view, she got back up to her feet and smiled happily as she saw all of the others crowded around her.

"Y-... You're all here...!" she stated happily. Her legs quickly gave way as she fell to the ground quite abruptly and tried to get her bearings. "Oh... ow..." she moaned as she placed her hands on her legs. Things were starting to get a bit blurry for the child as she struggled to try and keep things in focus. Picking herself up from the ground she failed as she fell back down, but this time she wasn't moving. Sharp pains serged from within her body as everything was beginning to darken. "I-... missed you all..." she muttered to them as everything grew dark.

* * *

**--flashback--**

The child ran as far and as fast as she possibly could as soon as she had escaped from that foresaken area. 'I have to get out!' she thought as she desperately fought her way through the rough terrain to find shelter. It was all to no avail as a huge explosion nearby shook the earth. Ai lost her bearings and hit the groud hard as everything turned black. 'No... not yet...'

"Sir, sir she's coming to!" shouted an eager voice from her bedside. Ai slowly opened her eyes to see that she was in a sickbay, but where it was she could not figure.

"Very good!" said the supposed commander of the ship as he walked into the room with a vigorous grin and arms open wide. "Nice to see you are alive and well, young miss. I am the commander here, Erasu Ayusagi." said the man as he crossed his arms behind his back and stepped forward. Ai turned her head to face the two, she was barely able to pay any mind to what was going on let alone what they were saying, but she tried her best to make out the names of her rescuers.

"Sir, do you think everything's cleared up by now?" questioned the young boy beside her. Ayusagi turned his head to face the boy as he sent him an approving nod.

"Yes, all should be clear now." Placing his arms back at his side the commander straightened his stance as he saluted the children. "Now I must get preparations for landing done. You are in charge here make sure to keep our guest safe and entertained." commented Ayusagi as he left the room to the two children.

"Heh, what a deadbeat, huh? Don't mind the commander, he's always got his duties before all else. You can count on me, though! I'll always be at your side whenever you need me, and that I can say is a promise!" said the boy as he sat on the end of the bed and sent Ai a zealous smile and a thumbs up. "My name's Raithe, you just call me whenever you need anything at all." Ai slowly got up from her position to face him but Raithe placed his hand on her chest and eased her back down. "I'm afraid you can't get up just yet. You need your rest, okay? I'll stay here as long as it takes if you'd like." he reasoned with his sweet smile.

Ai nodded as she dug herself under the covers and gave in to her tired body. Raithe pulled up a chair by her bedside as he crossed his arms and legs with a determined face as if he were protecting the girl. 'Right, right. Got to stay awake!' he chanted in his mind as he fought off all of his tired temptations, but eventually failed as he dozed off in the seat, legs hanging on the chair as he leaned over to Ai's side.

"Ayusagi, do they know..?" came a voice over the transmission, the face clouded.

"No... They don't know about anything. We have them onboard but I'm afraid that I cannot keep hiding it from them." answered the commander as he folded his hands atop the desk, his poise perfect.

"I don't care what it takes, you mustn't let them get close or else the results could be catastrophic! Do you understand Erasu!" shouted the voice in frustration to his earlier comment. Ayusagi gave a reluctant nod as the transmission ended. He slammed his hand on the desk in anger. 'This isn't right...' he thought as he clenched his teeth and fists trying to ease his anger.

**--end flashback--**

* * *

That night whilst the two children were quietly dreaming Ai was taken away and sent away. She never did see Raithe again. What were the intentions of these strange people she encountered so long ago? She often wondered why she had these broken dreams but never questioned it. As Ai slept something far off was approaching fast...

* * *

**Author's Note:** Okay, so the last part sounds really really bad, but come on I didn't have much to work with! Anyway, after the big emotional scene with Ai and the pilots I couldn't really think of much else to do; other than more flashbacks... To those who have been reading closely by, I thank you very much! 


	27. Slight Panic

**Phase 27: Slight Panic**

The scene seemed to shatter as Ai fell to the ground unconscious.

"What's wrong with her!" Nicol questioned.

"It seems as if she aggravated her wounds again..." Orga stated, crouching down next to the fallen girl.

"Then we gotta do something about it now!" Dearka remarked.

"Somebody get some fucking help!" Shani demanded.

"I'll go get Lacus." Athrun stated. "Just stay here and I'll be right!"

"Hurry!" urged the pilots, still trying to tend to Ai. Athrun dashed off in the direction of the mansion.

"No, Ai...I can't lose you again..." Shani murmured, holding the small child close to him.

Meanwhile, Lacus was having a discussion with another person in what seemed to be another ZAFT conference, all seemed well until Athrun came bursting through the door.

"Lacus! It's an emergency, we need help!" Athrun cried out.

"What is it?" Lacus questioned, a look of worry crossing her face.

"It's Ai, she collapsed in the garden." Athrun explained.

"Oh my." Lacus commented. "I'm so sorry Mr. Waltfeld, I would very much like to proceed with this conversation at a later time."

"Oh don't worry about me, now get goin' and help that little girl, I'll still be waiting here when you get back, oh, by the way, call me Andy or Andrew, whatever you prefer." Andrew stated.

"Thank you so much!" Lacus exclaimed, running off with Athrun.

When they got to the garden, the pilots were in a frenzy trying to figure out what to do.

"Get a doctor right now!" Lacus commanded to one of the butlers.

"Yes Ma'am!" he replied before running off.

"Try to give her some space, crowding around her like that ain't gonna do you no good..." came a voice from off to the side.

"Oh Mr. Waltfeld... er, I mean Andrew, what are you doing out here?" questioned Lacus, a pure look of shock adorning her face.

"Ah well, I thought that sitting around was quite boring so I trailed you out here." he explained.

"Who are you?" Shani interrogated with a confused look on his face.

"I'm Andrew Waltfeld, commander of ZAFT's African desert fleet, also known as the Desert Tiger." Andrew explained.

"That's good an all, but what about Ai?" Yzak asked.

"Well, we can only try to get her comfortable until she gets medical attention..." Lacus stated, turning to face the little girl.

* * *

**--flashback--**

The three boys were laying around the room, seeming apathetic and oblivious to everything around them. Suddenly, a soldier walked in and gave the boys an intent stare.

"Azreal wants one of you down in the testing lab. He doesn't care which." stated the man. The three boys stared at the man, then at each other.

"So, who's going because it sure ain't me. I'll be damned if I have to go there again this week..." murmured one of the boys who had quietly tucked away his handheld into his pocket to keep it from being taken away.

"Hey, don't look at me, I've already had to go through that shit more times than you." remarked another boy who shoved his novel behind his back for the same reason as the other boy. The two boys stared at the third and gave him a look that said loud and clear 'You're going'. The boy slowly got up tucked his earphones away and followed the soldier into the hallway. The whole trip was made in silence as only the sound of their footsteps could be heard. They arrived in another part of the facility, lit by the glow of florescent lights.

"Ah, I see you got our little 'candidate'." Azrael remarked, sending glances toward the boy. The soldier gave a dignified nod and left the room.

"You must be dying to know what I have planned for you today right?" Azrael taunted with a heavy air of sarcasm in his voice. The boy just glared back at him, refusing to speak. "Well here." Azrael stated, shoving a small glass vial into his hands. "Drink it." The boy eyed the vial's contents and then looked back at Azrael.

"What the fuck is it?" he questioned, not wanting to put his trust in the man before him.

"Don't you dare questioned my actions, you're a tool with no free will so just do it unless you would like to be returned to that facility." Azrael stated. The boy gave the vial a reluctant stare before having a small taste of what was in the vial and shuddering out of pure spite for whatever it was. "The whole thing." Azrael instructed. The boy once again glared as he brought the vial up to his mouth and drank the remains of the substance, nearly gagging in the process. "There, now that wasn't too hard now was it?" Azrael commented. "Now stay put, we have to wait a bit so the effects of that serum can start working..." Azrael gave the boy one last look before walking out of the room, leaving the boy alone, wondering about what was to become of him.

**--end flashback--**

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Finally, she did her own flashback with the Druggies! Thank god... I was sort of getting lonely doing them all by myself... Anyway, I sort of feel bad about making Ai black out so many times, I mean honestly since it started the poor girl can't stay conscious for more than a week! Then again if you were twelve years old and forced to fight in a war piloting one of those things I'm sure you'd be pretty exhausted too. 


	28. OMEGA

**Phase 28: OMEGA**

Alarms soon began to ring out as the group placed Ai back into the bed. She awoke to the sudden blare of panic. 'Wha-... huh?' she thought as she rubbed the sweat from her forehead.

"What's going on!" she demanded as she shot up from her place in the bed glancing around.

* * *

"This is Ensign McGreyson, ready for launch!"

"Meamie Troughman here, Pegasus is okay and ready for launch!"

"Lyai here, OMEGA units ready for launch. Everyone off to support Ensign Heiwa!"

Three unknown units closed in to the strange Ensign as they all made their way to the area where the Archangel had docked. Making their way slowly to the area, they seemed to show no threat but were menacing all the same.

"OMEGA units Alpha and Delta proceed as planned. Units Beta and Gamma will cover." stated Ayusagi to the four pilots as they all took head of his commands.

"Meamie, you heard the man!" scolded the pilot of the Beta unit as he maneuvered his way behind Delta.

"Kanta, we get to be together again, I'm so happy you chose me!" responded the cheerful girl as she joined him in the rear.

"Will you knock it off, this is an operation not some date!" shouted Kanta as he restrained himself from saying anything more. The girl gave a heavy sigh and pouted as she resumed her position and turned her attention back to the operation.

"I hope we can trust you two to keep to formation... Meamie, Kanta?" questioned Lyai as she sent them both an irritated glance. They both nodded as they all took to a more serious attitude.

"I'll be taking the lead soon, right?" questioned the young ensign as he brought Alpha into position.

"Yes. Ensign Heiwa you will storm the area as the others create a diversion. We must track down that unit to further OMEGA's progress." came the commander. The boy nodded in response as he took the lead of the formation.

"Don't sweat it, Fenrir's a good unit you'll be just fine." assured Kanta, trying his best to encourage him.

"Remember, our target is the Cerberus. If any others get in the way take them down." remarked Lyai. The rest nodded in agreement as they waited to see movement from the supposed 'enemy'.

* * *

"Something's coming..." Yzak muttered, gazing into the distance.

"What do they want?" Kira questioned.

"I dunno, but be prepared for anything, if they attack, then we'll be ready." Athrun commanded.

"Alright everyone, go get yourselves suited and I'll tell my crew and everyone else to prep the launch bays, I may even join you..." remarked Andrew. Everyone dashed off leaving Ai with Lacus, who was trying to clam her down and explain the situation.

* * *

Meanwhile, everyone was trying to get into their Gundams and out of the launch bay.

"One at a time, one at a time!" urged one of the mechanics, who was having a hard time trying to coordinate the whole thing.

"Forbidden, Raider, Calamity, you are now clear for launch!" shouted one of the operators. The three Gundams shot out of the launch pad as more Gundams stepped in to fill the space.

"Aegis, Blitz, Buster, Duel, you are clear for launch!" shouted the operator, who was beginning to rub at his throat. The four Gundams didn't hesitate to get themselves out of the hangar and blasted out of the launch pad.

"Strike, Skygrasper, you are now ready for launch..." moaned the operator who then collapsed due to the strain of yelling so much. The last two units shot out and joined the others on the front lines awaiting some kind of action from the new units.

"Right then, this will be good..." stated Kanta as he stretched out in place and gave an eager smile toward the eight new obstacles in their path.

"Interesting... They all seem different somehow. Keep your guard up." Lyai advised.

"You all better watch out!" shouted Meamie, backing away from Delta and Beta. "Hehehe! Bombs away boys!" Kanta and Lyai shook their heads in irritation as they watched the trigger-happy girl bombard the Gundams with a barrage of fire.

"That crazy bitch, she's going to hit us if she doesn't watch her damned aim..." sneered Kanta as he moved over toward Lyai for cover.

"Kanta you need to cover Fenrir! Take Behemoth and watch his back." commanded Lyai as she assumed her position and charged the Gundams.

"Roger that, Fenrir I'm on my way hold on!" exclaimed Kanta as he went on to assist the young pilot.

"Beta, Gamma and Delta take down those Gundams now!" came Erasu with an uneasy tone in his voice. "Ensign Heiwa find cover and make your way in there to retrieve Cerberus!"

"Right!" they said in unison as they all broke away from their earlier plans.

"Hey Meamie, take down those lesser units and the Skygrasper." said Kanta as he left Pegasus' side. "These five are mine!" he stated as he charged the Aegis, Blitz, Buster, Duel and Strike.

"Sure thing sweetie. They won't know what hit them!" she shouted as she began another barrage on the various units.

"Then that leaves these three..." Lyai said to herself as she glance to the Calamity, Raider and Forbidden. She looked back and saw that the Fenrir had successfully gotten past sight and into the base. "Good... Now then, I hope you three can put up a fight!"

* * *

Ai heard Lacus' explanation but wasn't quite ready to let the others take charge of the situation and leave her by on the sidelines. Hopping out from under the covers of the bed she dashed off to the hangar as best she could. The only problem standing in her way was the fact that she had no idea where the hangar was. 'I have to help them...' she thought as she glanced in every direction trying to find an answer ti her pressing questions. Footsteps could be heard from around the corner, but they were silent and rushed. 'Who in the...!' Just as Ai turned the corner to get a better view she was knocked to the ground.

"Ah geez... I'm sorry, I-I didn't mean to..." stuttered the boy as he got to his feet and helped her back up. He then quickly went back on his way after his quick apology.

"W-Wait!" shouted Ai as she followed behind him. She had no idea what to think of the odd collision, all she could think about was following after. Maybe he knew some of the answers she was seeking, it was all out of a simple feeling she had. "Excuse me... I-..!" she gasped as her she covered her mouth in shock.

"R... Raithe!" The boy turned back to face her as his eyes widened in astonishment. He walked back toward the still girl and looked at her intently.

"Who are you?" he demanded but in a soft tone. Tears began to well up in the young girls eyes as she looked closely into his eyes. He raised a brow in question as he locked gazes with her. 'Who is she..?' he thought to himself as he scanned her body. His wandering eyes stopped as he saw the pendant strung around her neck. "I-Its you!" he stammered, nearly falling backwards. Ai nodded slowly as she walked over to him and took gentle hold of his hand.

"Is it really you, Raithe..?" she asked as she helped him back up to his feet. The two had still locked their gazes but it somehow seemed lighter than before. Just as Raithe was about to answer a tremor shook the two as they both fell to the floor. Ai fell into his arms as he held her tightly and turned so that he would feel the full impact.

"Raithe we need you back now, there's no more time the others can't hold out much longer!" came the voice of Ayusagi from the communicator in his ear.

"Dammit..." he said in frustration as he helped Ai and himself back up. 'Why now, why here of all places..?' he thought as he took the girl's hand. "Hold on, we have to get out of here now!" he shouted as he ushered her to the exit where Fenrir had been hidden.

"Raithe, what's going on!" she demanded as she broke free from his grip and gazed up at the Gundam. "What is this? Why are you here?"

"I'm sorry, Ai... I can't explain..." he stated as he climbed aboard the mobile suit. "Come with me Ai. I can get you out of here, out of this war!" he proposed holding out his hand.

"No Raithe... There is no way out of it but there has to be an end. If you keep fighting like this then there will never be one." she reasoned hanging her head. Another tremor shook the area as Ai fell to the ground, this time it aggravated her wounds once more as she lost her grip on reality. Raithe jumped out of the cockpit and went down to her side as he held her in his arms.

"I'm sorry Ai, but I have a mission and I can't leave you here with 'them' anymore." he said in a cold tone as he boarded Fenrir and took off with Ai.

* * *

**Author's Note:** Yes, OMEGA! Finally I get to bring them into this! If you guys are a little curious as to the meanings behind OMEGA then I guess I'll eventually add their info to my profile, but only if I get some comments about it! Moving on, it's the return of one of the people from Ai's past, or rather one of the few people from Ai's past in which I name... Yeah, about the last name thing I suppose it's not hard for people to put two and two together but I'd rather not spoil it now since I plan on using it for something in the future. But can you believe it? I just realized that I'm more than half way through the amount of episodes in the actual series! Let's just say that things are going to start getting pretty intense... 


	29. Sudden Ceasefire

**Phase 29: Sudden Cease-fire**

"Look it's Raithe!" shouted Meamie as she pointed toward the fast approaching unit.

"Good, then that means I don't have to take all of these guys on alone." stated Kanta as he backed off from the other pilots.

"Right then. Welcome back Raithe, was your mission a success?" question Lyai as she joined Alpha, Beta and Gamma away from the enemy units.

"Yes, I've got the girl." he responded.

"I'm all done with those lesser units, all that's left is those guys." commented Meamie as she motioned toward the eight Gundams still holding strong.

"We shall see just how long this lasts when a fellow member has been captured..." said Lyai with an odd glare. Raithe nodded as Lyai began a link to the other Gundams. "Attention all enemy units this is OMEGA operative Ensign Lyai Hana Nagareru. Cease your fire and surrender to us on the terms that no harm will come to you or your ally. If you do not comply then we will be forced to continue fire and the likelihood of her survival will not be promised..."

"Wha?" Dearka muttered, abruptly stopping his current attack. Another transmission interrupted Dearka's.

"Attention all pilots, Ai's gone! She's been kidnaped by those soldiers!" Lacus explained.

"She's been what!" Athrun exclaimed, shocked by the turn of events.

"Those cheating bastards! Who do they think they are, taking Ai away..." Shani growled. "I'm going in!" Forbidden shot towards the unit that had sent the transmission in the first place with it's scythe in hand ready to bash his enemy to pieces.

"Shani wait! Don't go doing anything reckless!" Orga called out, trying to keep the other pilot in line.

"Shut the fuck up! Don't tell me what to do!" Shani retorted.

"Dammit...if he's gonna be like this...I can't do a damn thing about it." Orga muttered, looking at the enraged pilot. "Everyone look out for Forbidden's moves. I know he's on our side and all but he can get a bit reckless when something like this happens..."

"What are we gonna do? We can't just let them get away with all this!" Yzak commented.

"But we can't risk Ai getting hurt." Kira stated.

"This blows, they got us right where they want us..." Crot grumbled, backing off slightly in Raider. Forbidden kept going at it with it's heavy scythe, but it was when the railings for the plasma cannon began to spark that Orga took notice.

"Shani! Stop it now! You're gonna get someone hurt at the rate! If you keep this up, then I'm gonna have to stop you myself!" Orga remarked. "Crot, I need Raider in it's mobile armor form if I'm gonna stop him in time."

"Got it." Crot replied with an audible sigh. 'There he goes again...' Crot thought, shifting Raider into it's mobile armor form. Calamity hopped on and sped towards Forbidden, trying to stop the coming attack.

"What the hell are you doing!" Shani questioned to the two units approaching him.

"You need to stop! Control yourself!" Orga stated.

"If we do nothing, we'll never get Ai back!" Shani replied.

"You might hurt her, ever think of that!" Crot demanded. Thoughts of a past battle drifted into Shani's mind causing him to stop the blast from the plasma cannon.

"I don't wanna hurt her again..." he murmured.

"Good, now just get back here, if we can't do this without some sort of casualty then we're not gonna do this at all, you got that?" Orga stated.

"Alright..." Shani muttered, seeming a bit hesitant in backing off.

"Just what are you're intentions?" Athrun questioned, sending the transmission to one of the new units before them. "I've never heard of your faction before..."

"We work to bring peace and order back into this divided universe in which we all dwell, what of it?" Lyai asked somewhat coldly to the Gundams.

"Enough Lyai!" interrupted Raithe as he got in the way of Delta. "This isn't going to get us anywhere..."

"Out of my way, Alpha!" she commanded as she moved in once more. Raithe shook his head in dismay.

"No... This isn't right. How can we try to end a war like this, Lyai?" questioned the youth as he turned a glance back to the others.

"Raithe's right, we're nothing more than savages if we continue on like this..." added Kanta as he joined Raithe in holding the Leviathan unit back.

"But how do you guys expect us to get anywhere without fighting!" asked Meamie hesitantly from behind Delta. "I mean... What can we do..?"

"All of you stop this nonsense now!" came the commander's voice. "Is this honestly how I taught you tactics!" scolded Ayusagi to them all as Epsilon appeared from behind.

"B-But commander I-.."

"Enough Lyai. The tension has been far too much on you and your senses are blinded." suggested Ayusagi. "I will talk with you all later but for now we must solve this mix up at once. I want a full retreat now!" commanded Erasu.

"Y-Yes sir!" they all stammered, returning back to the ship.

"We apologize deeply for the misunderstanding and request to have audience with you at once. No harm will come to the child we assure you." stated Ayusagi as the ship docked. It was then that Lacus' voice came over their com. systems once more.

"Please report to the launch bay immediately, I would very much like to have a word with some of these people..." she stated. All of the Gundams swiftly returned to the hangar and their pilots quickly filed into the conference hall. "I don't want all of you in there, it seems quite unnecessary..." Lacus remarked.

"Ah yes, we will remain outside while you have your conversation." Kira replied.

"Lacus, I want to go with you, I don't want you going in there alone." Athrun added.

"As you wish." Lacus replied, gesturing for Athrun to come with her into the room. Lacus and Athrun strode inside the room to wait for the arrival of their guests for the time being.

* * *

Meanwhile, outside of the room the pilots were starting up little conversations of their own.

"What did they want with us?" Nicol questioned.

"I'm not sure, but they must've wanted something..." Dearka stated.

"They seem really suspicious to me." Yzak commented. "First thing they do is pop up from out of nowhere and say that their a faction bent on keeping the peace? It just sounds ridiculous to me..." Shani was sitting on one of the chairs trying to bore a hole in the door with his glare.

"You know, you could've made things a whole lot worse if you had continued on..." Orga explained.

"You're not making him any happier..." Crot interjected.

"I know, but what the hell do you think would've happened if they hadn't retreated? We could very well still be battling out there!" Orga retorted, giving Crot a hard stare.

"I know, but you know how he's like..." Crot muttered, gesturing to the pilot who still had all of his attention focused on the door.

"I'm gonna go report this to Murrue." Mwu stated with an audible sigh. "Tell me if anything significant happens ok?" Some of the pilots gave him nods, which was enough for he disappeared into the conjoining hall.

"Well, all we can do is wait 'till they get out and tell us what's going on." Kira remarked, leaning back into the wall.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Okay so we rushed the scenes again but come on... We weren't going to get very far with a battle between that many Gundams, now were we? Besides it's been a while since we managed to get some good character developement going and if I don't explain my original characters than no one will be able to remember their names! The next one should help you all with that... 


	30. Introductions

**Phase 30: Introductions**

"Sir I still don't see this very necessary..." commented Lyai as the group made their way into the area. Lyai was by Ayusagi's side while Meamie was hanging closely to Kanta and Ai was being held in Raithe's arms, still oblivious to what was occurring.

"It is necessary Ensign Nagareru. If we had continued that fight our defeat would have been intimate. Those pilots are very much different as they are alike and I would like to know why." answered Ayusagi as they all came to the conference room door. "Lyai I want you to come along with me for this. Kanta, Meamie, Raithe I would like you to go into the hallway." They all nodded as the commander and Lyai entered the room.

"We must apologize for our brash reasoning today on that battlefield." explained Lyai as her and Agyusagi entered the room with a bow and quietly took their seats. "Our intentions were never to put anyone in harms way, we assure you."

* * *

Meanwhile back in the hall the others had stopped just before turning the hallway where the pilots were conversing.

"What is it Kanta?" whispered Meamie in his ear as she held tighter to his arm.

"If you'd let go then maybe I could..." he responded irately as he sent her a cold glare. Meamie took the message of the angered Coordinator as she backed off from him and now stood by his side. He gave a slight look of triumph as he dusted himself off and took a quick glance around the corner. "What do you think commander wants us to do here, huh? Look at them all, they far out number us especially with their skills. Ayusagi knew this and therefor called for a retreat. What he doesn't know is that this girl has far greater meaning then any others partnership to them. Why else would he order us to cease the girl?" explained Kanta as he leaned against the wall.

"But why would the commander, of all people-.."

"Please, no more you two... We've caused enough harm for now..." responded Raithe, his head hung and his gaze locked on the unconscious Ai. Kanta and Meamie nodded silently as they turned the corner and entered the hall with all of the pilots. Raithe fell to the ground but let himself take the full impact as his strength wavered. This small commotion awoke the young Ai as Kanta and Meamie were about to assist him. Ai looked around still dazed but stopped as she saw Raithe as she was consumed by tears again. She gave him her gentle embrace as Meamie and Kanta backed away from the two.

"R-Raithe... Raithe why..?" she questioned, her speech muffled. He held her tight as he sent her a regretful glance.

"Ai... I'm sorry I didn't keep my promise to you..." he said as he tried his best to control his emotions. Ai shook her head as she looked up at him.

"No... You said you'd always be.. by my side whenever I called... and you're here now..." Raithe slowly got back to his feet at her comment and helped her up as well as he ushered her over to the others. Letting go of her he returned back to Kanta and Meamie, his head hung and his face out of view. Kanta placed his hand on his shoulder as he sent the pilots a cold stare.

"It's okay Raithe... We'll sort things out..." whispered Kanta as he approached the pilots, Meamie grabbing onto his arm and dragging along.

"Kanta don't go forgetting about me now..." she said tauntingly nearly tripping the troubled boy.

"You've got some nerve... Dammit let go!" he said struggling from her tight grip. The girl was too much for him as he sighed deeply and continued on with his added luggage. 'I swear I'll get her one day...' he thought sending her cold glares. Ai was standing amidst her friends still a bit confused but felt cold inside for what she had done to Raithe, or maybe even for what he had done. She shook off the feeling as she looked around at her many friends and then stuck her gaze on Shani as she approached the troubled pilot.

"I'm sorry I keep causing you so much grief..." she whispered to him from behind, her hands crossed behind her back and her innocent smile once again returning.

"It's alright..." Shani replied, a bit of shame still lingering in his voice. "I'm just glad that nothing bad happened to you." Orga and Crot, who had their gazes locked on the new pilots all this time had just noticed that Ai was in the vicinity.

"Ai you're alive!" Crot exclaimed, grabbing the small girl into a rough hug.

"Um...Crot?" Orga bluntly stated. "You might wanna stop that before you smother her to death..."

"Oh right, sorry Ai..." Crot whimpered, gently letting go of Ai and regaining his composure.

"Anyways, glad you're back Ai, you had us worried..." Orga stated, trying to resist the urge to just squeeze the girl. Yzak and Dearka were in one corner of thehall whispering to one another.

"Hey, do you notice something?" Dearka asked.

"What?" Yzak demanded, trying to stay quiet and listen in on the conversation.

"You see that guy over there?" Dearka questioned, gesturing towards Raithe. "He kinda looks like Ai..."

"Maybe it's just a coincidence." Yzak replied, trying even harder to listen through the door.

* * *

Meawhile, Athrun and Lacus were trying to maintain a conversation with the representatives from the faction.

"It is quite alright." Lacus replied. "We just don't want to take any risks. We've been attacked by so many factions. I'm sorry, but if we seem like a hostile group, we really aren't..." It was then that Athrun decided to join the conversation.

"We try not to be a part of this war, as you can see, many of us come from different factions. We do not discriminate against genetics or anything of the sort." Athrun explained. "I know you can't exactly call us peace keepers, but we try our best to avoid violence, that is unless we are being barraged by enemy fire and have no other choice."

"I would rather not have us labeled as your enemy in any sort of way if possible." Lacus added.

"My name is Erasu Ayusagi the commander of OMEGA, and this is the pilot of the OMEGA series Gundam Delta, Ms.-.."

"Lyai Hana Nagareru." she interrupted, not liking the fact of him addressing her with Miss.

"My other pilots of the OMEGA series are Meamie Troughman pilot of the Gamma: Pegasus, Kanta McGreyson pilot of the Beta: Behemoth and our youngest and most skilled pilot of the Alpha: Fenrir, Raithe Heiwa."

Yzak, who had been listening in, nearly choked when he heard the last name of the pilot of OMEGA Alpha.

"Damned ears..." he muttered, trying to strain his ears, thinking it was a total fluke, but then what Dearka had mentioned earlier about the guy looking quite like her just made things more confusing. "Gah! I can't think!" Yzak grumbled.

"Can't think about what?" Dearka asked, popping up right in front of him.

"Ahhhhhhhhh!" Yzak hollered, tripping over his own leg. He tried to grab onto something to stabilize himself, but ended up grabbing the door knob and landed face first in the room. Athrun turned around and nearly screamed in anger when he saw Yzak on the ground.

"Oh boy...That's not good..." Athrun muttered under his breath. "Nice job there Yzak..."

"Oh! Well, since he's here, why don't we introduce everyone here!" Lacus exclaimed, trying to make up for the silver haired pilot's blunder.

"Heh heh...sorry about that." Yzak apologized. "My name is Yzak Joule and I pilot the Duel Assault Shroud, former member of ZAFT." Athrun stuck his head out the door and told everyone to come and introduce themselves.

"Dearka Elsman's the name." Dearka exclaimed. "I pilot the Buster and I'm also a former member of ZAFT."

"I am Nicol Amalfi." Nicol explained. "I pilot Blitz and am a former member of ZAFT."

"I'm Orga Sabnak." Orga remarked. "I pilot Calamity and am a former member of Blue Cosmos."

"Just call me Crot Buer!" Crot exclaimed. "I pilot Raider and I used to be a part of Blue Cosmos."

"The name's Shani Andras." Shani stated. "I pilot Forbidden and I also used to be a part of Blue Cosmos."

"My name is Kira Yamato and I pilot Strike." Kira remarked. "I am currently with the Earth Alliance." Everyone had filed into the room and introduced themselves, but with such numbers the room began getting slightly crowded...

"So... ZAFT, Blue Cosmos and the Earth Aliance... Very impressive." remarked Lyai as she folded her hands under her chin. "You boys can call me Lyai Hana Nagareru, but I'd suggest Lyai for the sake of memorization. I pilot Delta-OMEGA: Leviathan."

"Erasu Ayusagi, commander of OMEGA." stated Ayusagi as he saluted and sent in the others. The two squeezed past the other pilots as they made their way toward the commander and Lyai.

"I'm Meamie Troughman pilot of Gamma-OMEGA: Pegasus! Interesting to see so many _fine_ pilots such as yourselves all in one place..." she said cheerfully and with a taunting wink. Kanta sighed and shook his head.

"The name's Kanta McGreyson the pilot of Beta-OMEGA: Behemoth. I'd watch your backs if I were you..." he hinted as he motioned toward Meamie with a blank stare. She still held tightly to him giving off a lot of passion.

"Aren't we missing someone?" questioned Meamie as she looked around the room only to see the other pilots.

"Yeah, you're right..." Lyai added as she too scanned the room.

"Hey, where's the squirt?" questioned Kanta as he turned to face Lyai and Meamie. "I just saw him a couple of minutes ago, where could he have gone?"

"It seems he's gone off somewhere again... We should give him some time alone." suggested Lyai with a smile as she faced the others. They nodded and resumed their earlier positions.

"Raithe doesn't like big crowds all too much, don't mind the little guy he just needs some time to himself." commented Kanta with a smirk on his face.

"Raithe Heiwa is the leader of the five signature OMEGA units and pilots Alpha-OMEGA: Fenrir. He may not seem like much but he is quite the talented pilot." stated Ayusagi with a cheered expression.

"Yeah well he sure doesn't need it... He always puts the weight of the world on his shoulders and never accepts any help. I swear it'll be all too soon when it comes back to bite him." groaned Kanta as he rubbed the back of his head.

"His heart's in the right place at least." added Meamie with a compassionate smile as she let go of Kanta and stood on her own. "After all we would have all still been fighting if he hadn't interrupted us."

"It's a good thing he did too." remarked Lyai as she crossed her arms and closed her eyes in thought.

* * *

"Raithe, Raithe please wait!" shouted Ai as she chased after the depressed boy. She caught up to him and slowed taking deep gasps for air. "Please... Don't... go like... that!"

"Ai... I'm sorry I just don't-..."

"Don't like to be with others. Yes I know, I remember perfectly." she said as she walked over to his side and tilted his head to face forward. "But if you never try then you'll never know." she remarked with her cheerful smile as she grabbed his hand gently.

"I've been alone... Not all the time but... On the inside..." he said as he hesitated to take her hand.

"I know what it's like... I was too before I met them all. Raithe, they're good people and so are the ones around you. Just give them a chance like you gave me one..." she explained as she held her hand out closer. His eyes softened as he heard her speech and he gave a slight nod placing his hand in hers.

"I will... if you'll be with me..." he said as he looked intently into her eyes. She looked up at him with another smile.

"Always..." And with that the two began to make their way back to the others.

* * *

"Wait, did you just say Heiwa?" Shani questioned. "Isn't that Ai's last name?"

"Yeah, like I said earlier, they did look alike." Dearka added. Yzak, who wasn't at all that comfortable with the way that Meamie was staring at him, scooted behind Dearka, trying to remain unseen but the energetic girl.

"Speaking of Ai, anyone know where she went?" Athrun questioned after not being able to locate her in the room.

"Uh, she was in the hallway wasn't she?" Crot recalled.

"Yeah, but the fact was, she didn't walk in with us." Orga finished.

"Just give her some time, these kinds of things happen, she's probably just stressed out and decided to go for a small walk or something." Nicol suggested.

"I suppose you're right, after all, she's had more excitement in these past couple of days than most people do in their whole entire lives!" Kira exclaimed.

"True, so true." Athrun agreed.

"All we can do is wait 'til she gets back, anyways, I could actually use a break for once. All this fast paced stuff is wearing me out..." Dearka whined, sitting down in a chair.

"Did you say Ai..?" questioned the commander. 'If this is true, if they are both together now, then this cannot mean well for the outcome of these battles...' he shook his head trying to clear his grave thoughts as put on a halfhearted smile. "Kanta why don't you go find Raithe?"

"Sure thing." responded Kanta, eager to leave the room without a certain someone still by his side.

"Great, I'll come too!" Meamie stated happily as she clung onto him once more. Kanta nearly fell down as he tried to regain his balance.

"Gah, get off!" he shouted trying to pry the girl from his side.

"No Meamie, Kanta shall go on his own. I need you to stay here." stated Ayusagi as he tried to hold in his slight laughter.

"Oh, but commander..!" she whined, trying to guilt him into changing his decision. It was to no avail as he pointed her into the corner with Lyai and she reluctantly obeyed. Kanta flexed out a little and stretched trying to regain the feeling in his body.

"Much better! Now then, did any of you guys want to come along or what?" questioned Kanta as he turned to face the other eight pilots.

"Sure..." Shani muttered, walking up beside Kanta.

"I'll come too!" Yzak blurted, wanting to be as far away from Meamie as possible.

"The rest of us can stay here." Athrun stated earning moans and groans from some other pilots who were disturbed by the fact that a giddy girl was in the room with them.

"Hurry back!" Dearka pleaded.

"Please!" Kira added.

"We'll just take our own sweet time..." Shani taunted, watching in satisfaction as Orga and Crot cringed at the thought of having to remain with the 'over-energetic' pilot.

"Let's go, now!" Yzak urged, pulling the other two pilots out of the room and into the hall.

"Come on, he has to be around here somewhere." Shani stated, starting to walk further into the hall.

Meanwhile, back in the room, an awkward silence fell over the remaining pilots as they all gawked at Meamie while trying to keep their distance all at the same time and just plainly ended up backing into the furthest wall away from her.

"How much longer?" Orga whispered.

"I dunno, but it better be soon!" Dearka replied. With all of the pilots scrunched into the corner, everything just seemed to move in slow motion as the minutes slowly ticked by. Meamie smiled at the small crowd of pilots in the corner. Nudging Lyai a bit a scheming look took her cheerful face as she decided a devious plan in her mind.

"Lyai." she whispered to the pilot, trying not to let the others see. "How about a little fun..?" proposed the scheming Meamie as she sent the pilots an odd stare. Lyai raised a brow until she noticed Meamie's expression then took her same scheming look. Lyai nodded to her proposal as they both went back to their regular stances.

"Well then, you're up first." stated Lyai as she motioned for her to go.

"Now remember, it's those two. They're fair enough game, right?" asked Meamie softly before she left Lyai's side.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Yeah, see what I mean about waiting, huh? So there is a connection between Ai and Raithe of which they are both unaware of, that connection of which I have yet to figur out... Nevertheless, it seems I've gotten those pilots fearful of my femal characters. If you don't think so now then just wait until the next one. For those of you who have already looked ahead the title states it all. Just a little _harmless_ fun. 


	31. Harmless Fun

**Phase 31: Harmless Fun**

Meamie made her way slowly over to the pilots with a devious smile and a menacing aura as she closed in on Crot. "Hey there." she said in an enamorous tone.

"Your name's Crot, right?" she questioned with an innocent look in her eyes as she took his hand and locked gazes with him. "My, you're so strong!" she said happily as she sent him a gaze that said 'You can't ignore me and you can't escape'. Lyai shook her head with a slight chuckle as she watched Meamie drag Crot helplessly away from the group and into the other side of the room. "You're up..." Meamie whispered to Lyai as she cornered Crot on the other side and hung to his arm.

"Easier said..." whispered Lyai as she made her approach on Orga. "Well now..." she began as she took a few steps back while crossing her arms. "It looks like you've injured yourself..." she said as she, placing her hand on his chest while moving his hair away from his face. "You should watch your back or else something worse might happen..." Lyai warned, tugging on his uniform and pulling him into her area. A malicious smile appeared on her face as she locked gazes with the pilot and slowly dragged him over to Meamie and Crot. The two of them never did get to do this sort of thing very often so they took the opportunity and performed it with more than a little grace.

Ai and Raithe were slowly making their way back hand in hand when Ai spotted Shani in the distance and was overcome with joy as she let go of Raithe and rushed into his arms, knocking them both down in the process.

"Shani!" she yelled happily as she hugged him tightly, though she loosened her grip when a slight pain surged through her spine.

"Right then, I didn't know you guys were so 'close'." teased Kanta as he walked around the two. "Hey squirt, where you been?" asked Kanta as he placed his hand onRaithe's head and messed up the child's hair. Raithe gave him a blank stare and an annoyed look as he hung his head in silence.

"Nowhere..." he responded a bit dead as he trudged forward with Kanta and stopped in front of the two on the floor.

"W-Wait! Let go!" Crot stammered, trying to wriggle away from Meamie's grip.

"Gah...This was never what I asked for..." Orga muttered under his breath, trying in vain to yank his uniform free. The two pilots sent pleading glances to the other pilots on the other side of the room only to have that returned with helpless expressions.

"They're goners..." whispered Dearka.

"Hey, what happens when those two are done with them? Won't they come after us?" Kira pondered.

"Oh no! We have to get out of here now! I can't take this anymore!" Nicol whimpered.

* * *

Meanwhile Shani was outside, happy to see that Ai was back, but also trying to get off of the ground without harming Ai.

"Are you still hurt?" Shani questioned, trying to get Ai from aggravating anything else any further.

"Do we have to go back 'in' the room?" Yzak whined, staring at the door as if there were some kind of atrocious monster inside.

"Yes, we're gonna go back." Shani stated, leading Ai gently by the hand.

"Damn..." Yzak grumbled, slightly angry that his little plan to get away from Meamie didn't last as long as he thought it would. They managed to make it to the door, but as Shani reached for the door knob, sounds of whimpering and cries could be heard through the door. "I knew it! See? We shouldn't have come back! It's more safer in the hall! Please don't open that door..." Yzak pleaded, on the verge of trying to yank Shani's hand from the door.

"Yzak, we're going in and that's that!" Shani hissed, getting slightly annoyed by Yzak's childish behavior. He turned the knob and gave the door a hard tug. The door came swinging open, revealing the awkward scene that was going on the inside. "Holy shit..." Shani murmured, staring at the scene before him.

"Told you so!" Yzak remarked, trying to hide behind the two pilots that were standing in the doorway.

"Help us!" Crot hollered. "This is worse than 'punishment'!"

"Make her stop!" Orga pleaded. "I feel violated!"

"Get us outta' here!" screamed the other pilots who were still bunched up in the corner.

"Oh come on now, I don't bite..." teased Lyai as she brought Orga in closer.

"Yeah don't be so cruel!" protested Meamie as she held him closer and gave him that innocent look that no one in their right or wrong mind could refuse. Kanta was witnessing the whole scene, while the commander, Lacus and Athrun were having a conversation else where.

"Meamie, Lyai!" he shouted in anger as he burst into the room with a hard glare. "Will you stop this already, have some dignity!"

"Kanta honey, you're back!" Meamie squealed in delight as she rushed after him, leaving Crot alone and somewhat traumatized. She took her place clinging to his side as he dragged her along into the room near Lyai.

"Lyai!" he demanded as he approached her.

"What is it now McGreyson? Can't take the sight of us conversing with other 'men'?" taunted Lyai as she let go of Orga and let him retreat back to the others. Kanta shot her back a fierce glare as he pushed Meamie away and stormed out of the room in irritation.

"Kanta-!"

"Leave him be Meamie. Let him sort out his own thoughts..." advised Lyai crossing her arms with a deep sigh. Meamie took in a deep breath and calmed herself as she restrained from following after him as she turned to face the other pilots with a cheerful smile.

"Well it looks like we'll be bunking here for a while now. See you around boys!" said Meamie with her menacing smile as she trotted out of the room in the opposite direction of Kanta.

"Yes, you might all want to heed that advice..." remarked Lyai as she slowly followed after the radiant girl. They had all failed to catch the shadowed figured behind Yzak and Shani. Raithe's head was still hung as he dared not face anyone until a familiar sound could be heard nearby.

"Haro, Haro! Guests!" came the team of machines following after Birdy as they entered the room and chased Raithe into the other pilots. It was basically the same turn out as normal with the pile except for the fact that Raithe was at the bottom of it all while Ai stood to the side watching as the machines began to trample over them all.

"Are you all alright?" asked Ai in worry as she struggled to help them all back to their feet.

"Yes, we're okay...physically anyways." Orga murmured.

"That...that _pest_ is _back_!" Shani growled, grabbing his handgun once more.

"No! Don't hurt it!" Nicol pleaded.

"Can't get images out of head..." Crot whispered, huddled in a corner in a fetal position.

"Is he gonna be okay?" Dearka questioned, almost tempted to poke the poor pilot.

"I think any of us would be traumatized if that happened to us..." Kira replied. It was then that Lacus, Athrun and the commander walked back over to them.

"Oh Haro!" Lacus exclaimed upon seeing the group of bouncing mechanical pets.

"Huh? Did I miss something?" Athrun questioned, seeing how most of the pilots were stirred up for some reason.

"You totally missed everything..." Dearka muttered.

"Lucky..." Crot remarked from his curled up position. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door to the conference room.

"Ah, come in!" Lacus stated. Mwu and Murrue walked in, immediately gaining confused looks on their faces upon their entry into the room.

"Um, did we interrupt something?" Mwu questioned.

"I was just informed of what had happened." Murrue explained.

"Oh, we have everything worked out and under control!" Lacus exclaimed, sending the captain a cheerful grin.

"Maybe not so much on the second part..." Athrun commented, still keeping a watchful eye on the pilots.

"Hey, are you alright?" Kira questioned, noticing that Raithe wasn't being as open as some of the other pilots. "You haven't been talking much at all, something wrong?"

"Yeah, I'm sure you can talk to us about it!" Dearka added. Raithe noticed the pilots beginning to gawk at his solemn attitude toward the whole situation. He tried his best not to be noticed throughout the entire time but it had seemed to backfire on him. Erasu took notice of the questions as he took the opportunity laid out before him.

"If you will all excuse me I will go make sure my other pilots get where they're going now. Once again I apologize for everything especially to you young miss. Good day." said Ayusagi as he saluted, bowed and left the room in Kanta's direction. Raithe saw as he was now left alone in a room filled with others in which he did not know. Sweat began to bead down the back of his neck as he tried his best to hide himself from view.

"P-Please no need to worry about him!" stammered Ai as she butted into the conversation noticing Raithe's poor disposition. "He's just tired is all!" she said as she stood beside him with a friendly smile trying her best to stop their questioning and cheer him up in the same process.

"Ai..." he whispered softly between his covered face. Heat started to well up in his face at her sudden care for his situation but he quickly brought it under control trying his best not to be embarrassed. Ai took his hand in hers and stood in front of him preventing the others from getting any closer looks at him.

"Anyways I'm sort of getting tired too..." she said as the exhaustion she had been trying to fight off was starting to show in her slowed actions and tone. Her color was a bit flushed and her eyes were clouded but she tried her best not to notice.

* * *

"C-Commander!" stuttered Kanta as he turned around abruptly to face him with a salute.

"Kanta, I want you to keep a close eye on him for me..." said Ayusagi as he continued on his way leaving the pilot to contemplate his words. Kanta turned to try and get another answer only to see Erasu disappear around a corner nearby. 'Keep a close eye..?' he thought as he tried to figure out the meaning of his words.

* * *

"I must say you did quite well in there. I never expected someone such as yourself to have so much 'skill'." commented Meamie as she rushed near Lyai's side and sent her a friendly smile.

"It's not that I can't it's just that I've never really had the chance, nor have a tried..." answered Lyai as she turned to face the curious girl. "But you were something in there. Could it possibly be that the Kanta lover has fallen for another..?" questioned Lyai with a smug look as she leaned against the wall. Meamie froze dead in her steps as she hear Lyai's question.

"No! Of course not! I love Kanta, I always will! I-I...!" she snapped back almost hysterically as her speech slowly faded while she went into deep thought on the subject. 'What if she's right..?' she thought in her mind as she hung her head. Lyai saw her friend's sad position and walked over to her side, placing her arm around her shoulder.

"Aw, come on no need to take it seriously. After all you saw the way Kanta reacted when he entered that room. He was jealous but he's too proud to admit it. He'll come around sooner or later, don't worry." she reassured her with a cheered smile. Meamie looked up at her and smiled back as she relaxed herself and tried her best not to think about the subject any longer.

"Yeah, I guess you're right..." she answered softly.

"Right then, let's get going before any of them catch up to us!" stated Lyai as she left Meamie's side and walked forward. Meamie rushed back over to her side and gave her that same malicious smile.

"But those pilots were pretty cute back there, huh?" said Meamie as the two girls began to converse and scheme.

* * *

"Well, it's settled then, everyone's had a long day and I'm about ready to get some shut eye." Dearka muttered.

"Then why don't we all just turn in for the night?" Athrun suggested.

"Sounds good to me." Kira yawned, having had enough excitement for one day.

"The rooms are in the west wing." Lacus explained, pointing them in the right direction.

"Just make sure that _pest_ doesn't come in my room..." Shani sneered, sending a death glare at the mechanical bird that had decided to make a landing on Kira's shoulder.

"Don't you dare do anything to it!" Nicol protested, giving Shani a look that read 'Don't even think about it!'.

"Please tell me that those girls are rooming far away from us..." Crot murmured, still refusing to leave his huddled position.

"There, there ...it doesn't feel good to be harassed by women, does it?" Yzak commented, showing his sympathy for the other pilot.

"You got that right..." Orga murmured, still shuddering at the thoughts from the events from before.

"Let's go check out the rooms." Kira suggested, strolling out of the conference room, followed by most of the other pilots leaving only Crot in the room. Finally realizing that he was alone in the room and snapping back into reality, he started running after the other pilots.

"Hey guys Don't leave me! Wait up!" Crot hollered, trying to catch up with the others before they got too far ahead. Ai had noticed some drastic changes in the pilot's personalities. She walked over to Crot and Orga and took their hands gently in hers as she sent them both a warm smile. Raithe still lagged behind them all, followed by a battalion of Haros.

"Haro! Happy, happy!" they cheered, crowding around the depressed child. It was then that Birdy flew over beside him and landed softly on his shoulder.

"Bridy?" it questioned to him tilting it's head in curiosity. Raithe ushered all of the machines away as the Haros fell back and Birdy wandered over to Ai.

"Hello there." she said happily to the machine as she continued holding hands with the troubled pilots.

"Well, well, well... Look who it is Meamie." came an all too familiar voice as everyone seemingly stopped dead in their tracks.

"Hey there boys!" taunted Meamie as the two of them stood a good ways away from the big group. Raithe began to piece things together and gave a slight chuckle as he figured things out. Walking over to A he pat her on the shoulder as she took the message and walked over to the rest in front.

"So you two are their targets, huh?" teased Raithe as he sent them both a smug look. "Heh, good luck..." and with that Raithe joined with the others leaving Crot and Orga alone with the two girls.

"Uh, not now okay? At least let us get our rooms first..." Orga remarked, trying to get back with the group.

"Yeah, I mean, we don't wanna be left with all of the suck ass rooms or anything!" Crot added, shying away from the girls. The two gave the girls an intent look, then dashed back to join the group who were already in the west wing.

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Heh heh, see I give them lots of love... (Or at least the girls do...) I think I had Tanya in stitches after that one. If Yzak didn't leave the room he probably would have been the first on their list but alas he got away in time! Oh well, more fun awaits later on whenever I can establish some serious relationships. Have you noticed how we really haven't done pairings yet? It's kind of weird not having any after so many phases. 


	32. Focusing on the Future

**Phase 32: Focusing on the Future**

"Alright." Athrun stated, stopping by the first room in the corridor. "Who's bunking with who? These rooms are large enough to accommodate about four to five at once." Immediately, all of the pilots grouped together according to faction, with the slight exception of Kira, who moved over to the side where all of the ZAFT soldiers were. "Well, that was easy enough..." Athrun commented. "Ai, who would you want to room with? It's your choice and if you feel uncomfortable, I'm sure Lacus can accommodate you, if you wish to that is..." Athrun suggested, seeing as how there were only groups of males and being the only female in a room full of males can lead to some...interesting little happenings...

Ai smiled cheerfully and laughed a bit at his comment. Walking over to Shani, Crot and Orga she gave Athrun a nod and stood beside the three.

"I'll be fine here." she stated happily as she lead the three into the room for fact that she was tired and didn't quite want to pass out in the hallway. Dashing over to the nearest bed she could find and nearly passed out on the mattress. "So tired..." she whimpered as she dug herself under the covers. 'Why am I so tired..?' she thought as she tried to close her eyes but couldn't get anything to work. As tired as she was her happiness cancelled it out. She wanted to sleep but just couldn't bring herself to close her eyes for fear of something happening. So she lay there snuggled under the covers trying to sleep but failing every time and hoping the three wouldn't notice.

Birdy was still on her shoulder until she flung herself onto the bed. It fluttered around in a panic before it joined her on the bed and hopped about beside her. It was probably trying to still cheer her up somehow but didn't know she was trying to sleep.

Meanwhile Raithe, Meamie and Lyai had all found a room where OMEGA would stay just so as not to get in the way of any others.

"Raithe you seem down, there anything we can help you with?" asked Lyai as she inspected the room trying to figure out where to sleep.

"I bet it's that girl, huh?" Meamie questioned as she teased the boy. He sent her one of Kanta's infamous glares and turned to ignore her. She stared blankly back at him as she sighed and joined Lyai. "Whatever, if you want to be that way about it then fine!" Raithe just slunk away in a bed in the far corner of the room and laid down as he turned to face the wall and slowly thought so much he fell asleep.

"It must be so hard on them like this..." said Lyai as she stood at his bedside. A caring look in her eyes as she tucked the boy in.

"The real tragedy is who is on the other side of every battlefield." stated Meamie as the images of all of the pilots and Ai flashed in her mind. "We're all not that different and we all fight for something. Yet it seems that we never really do know..." The girls stood there for a while in deep until they both decided it was about time they got some sleep as well. All was beginning to get silent now...

As everything else beginning to settle down, the lights in the hallway dimmed creating a subtle shadowy effect throughout the wing. In one of the rooms whispers could be heard.

"What's going to become of us?" Kira murmured, a hint of doubt lining his voice.

"Kira..." Athrun whispered, still lying fully awake in the blackened room. "Whatever happens, it won't matter as long as you know that your heart's in the right place." Kira gave a faint smile as he dug his feet under the covers.

"I know, but I just wish that this fighting, and this whole conflict would just stop." Kira whispered.

"We've been through some pretty tough times haven't we?" Athrun commented. He paused, waiting for a reply from his friend. After several moments of waiting, he got out of his bed and walked over only to find Kira already sound asleep. "Sleep tight..." Athrun whispered, trying to feel his way back to the bed. Slight snores from the other side of the room told Athrun that Yzak, Nicol and Dearka were still deep in sleep. Having finally found his way back to his bed, Athrun tucked himself under the covers and tried to sleep.

Meanwhile, in the room across from them, some people were still up and about, much to someone's dismay. A dim light came from one corner of the room. Orga was still awake and trying to finish yet another novel.

"Give it a rest you bookworm..." Crot grumbled, shoving his head under the covers, trying to avoid the light's faint glow. Shani was plainly oblivious to it all, taking no notice to anything but the music still blaring in his ears. Everyone decided that it was time to turn in for the night, Shani decided to bid Ai goodnight and strolled over to her bed. It was then that he noticed Birdy, right on Ai's.

"You little _pest_..." Shani growled, getting more and more agitated by the moment. "Get out of this room!" Birdy took no notice and was still happily hopping on Ai's bed. Shani made a quick swipe for the mechanical bird but missed as Birdy took to the air and flew across the room. "You're not getting away from me!" Shani sneered, dashing after the bird which had flown over someone's bed. Shani was still trying to reach Birdy and had not noticed that his foot had smashed someone's face when he had gone over the bed.

"Gah! Shani you bastard!" Orga growled, having been abruptly woken up by Shani's foot. "Dammit! Take this!" Orga then grabbed his pillow and hurled it in Shani's direction, trying to hit the other pilot, but missed. The pillow, which had missed it's intended target, did manage to hit another pilot...

"What the fucking hell!" Crot shouted. Having a pillow slammed into his face when he was trying to sleep wasn't exactly his idea of a good night sleep. Crot grabbed his pillow, and in retaliation to Orga's actions, hurled the pillow right at Orga's face. The pillow hit with a loud thud, knocking Orga out of his bed.

"What the...oh, now you've done it..." Orga sneered, advancing towards Crot with a look of malice on his face. Meanwhile Ai was still unaffected by their little squabble as she slept without any hints of distraction.

As the time began to pass before the rustling of the other three Ai had slipped into a quiet slumber. It was one of those rare instances in which she was sleeping soundly and carefree. Lately she had been ignoring both her wounds and her fatigue which both posed a threat to her well being and that of all those around her.

Meanwhile back in the hall Kanta had finally found his way to the rooms after wandering around the entire place a few times over. He was never that great with directions. He silently entered the room and snuck his way into the nearest bed as he quietly placed himself under the covers. It didn't take him long to completely pass out. Little did Kanta know that he had picked the bed directly next to a certain affectionate girl...

It was morning as rays of sun entered through any opening in the windows which had not been covered up by any drapes. All three of the beds were empty except for Ai's bed. Shani, Orga and Crot were in a tangled mess on the ground, peacefully sleeping. Feathered bits and any other remains of the pillows were scattered around the room as Birdy was still happily hopping about. In the other room, everything was peaceful in this room as slight snores could be heard coming from a couple beds. Everyone was still locked in sleep as the morning began. The whole colony seemed silent as the sun spread it's light throughout.

Within the dark and cold reaches of space, a black legged ship slowly glided past colonies.

"Keep the Dominion moving, I don't want any stalls." Azrael commanded as he walked off of the bridge and into the hallway. It was then that one of the soldiers approached him.

"Your stage 2 biological CPUs are ready, along with the Gaia, Chaos and Abyss Gundams." stated the soldier.

"Good, I want them prepped for battle as soon as possible." Azrael explained.

"Yes sir!" exclaimed the soldier as he ran off.

"Everything's gone according to plan..." Azrael snickered as he continued to wander the halls of the Dominion.

The Versalius was docked near a colony as a discussion was occurring in a room.

"Rusty, Miguel, I want you two to go and capture a girl by the name of Ai Heiwa." explained Cruset.

"Sir, why a girl?" questioned Miguel, who had a slightly confused look on his face.

"You need not question my actions." Cruset stated.

"And what is to become of Athrun, Yzak, Nicol and Dearka?" demanded Rusty. "Are we just gonna stop looking for them!"

"We'll just deem them as MIA for the time being." Cruset replied. "Now go, I don't want you back until you have her."

"Yes sir." they both stated.

"You are now dismissed." Cruset stated, ushering them out the door.

"What is with him?" Rusty questioned.

"I don't know, he's been acting weird ever since Providence was damaged in that last battle." Miguel murmured. "Let's get going, we have a mission to complete." Rusty gave a defeated sigh.

"You win, I suppose I can think on this later..." Rusty muttered, following Miguel into another room to get suited up.

Ai awoke to Birdy flying over to her side with a few friendly chirps. She smiled happily as she got out of bed and stretched out. 'If only it could always be like this...' she thought as she saw her three friends sleeping in a pile on the floor. Birdy fluttered around her as he landed atop Shani's head and sent her a questioning chirp. Ai giggled as she walked over to the three and kneeled down beside them as she waited for the tired pilots to awake.

The OMEGA pilots were still sound asleep but Meamie had made her way over beside Kanta while he was out and was now lying beside him. Raithe was the only one up and about. He was pacing around the room in deep thought, something he often did.

"You shouldn't be so stressed. It doesn't suit you very well." whispered Lyai who was still trying to get back to sleep but was awakened by Raithe's restlessness.

"I'm sorry... It's just that-... I'm going out for a walk, if anyone asks..." said Raithe as he left the room in silence. Lyai gave a deep sigh and shook her head as she turned over in her bed.

"That kid, he's got to get out of this war... They all should..." she said to herself as she continued her long amount of sleep. The OMEGA pilots never could rest easy since they had to keep up with everything that was going on so life was never exactly a carefree one. It seemed that the most pressure was always put into Raithe...

Raithe wandered the hallways as he found his way out to the courtyard. Something in the distance caught his eye.

"What's that light?" he said to himself as he squinted trying to figure out what the flashes in the distance could be but gave in as he wandered back into the hallway with another sigh. 'What is it about her... that feels so familiar..?' he thought to himself as he took a glance back toward her room.

Shani slightly stirred due to the added weight on his head. The slight movement from the other pilot woke up Orga as he tried to sit up and ended up shoving another pilot off of him. Crot gave a loud yawn and sat up.

"Rise and shine Shani, by the way, nice head ornament..." Orga snickered.

"Huh? Wha?" Shani murmured. unaware of Birdy, who was still on his head.

"Birdy!" came a loud chirp from above Shani's head.

"What!" Shani shrieked. "Why didn't you tell me that it was on my head!"

"Well, I hinted at it." Orga stated.

"Get off me!" Shani hollered, making a clumsy grab for the mechanical pet. Birdy, having the advantage of flight, merely flapped away, leaving Shani angry as ever. "I'll get that bird someday..." Shani growled.

"You know you'll never catch him right?" Crot questioned, trying to hold back his laughter.

"Shut up already!" Shani retorted.

"Good morning Ai." Orga remarked. "You feeling any better?"

"I could get you breakfast if you want, anyways, you're not gonna get any better if you don't eat." Crot stated. Shani straightened himself out and walked over to Ai.

"Did you have a good night sleep?" he questioned, gazing at Ai, trying to figure out if anything was wrong with her in any sort of way.

Meanwhile, in the other room, Kira and Athrun were just waking up while a slight argument was occurring between Yzak and Dearka.

"Pancakes are better!" Yzak protested.

"Not they're not! Waffles are the best for breakfast!" Dearka retorted.

"Waffles! You gotta be kidding me! Pancakes are soft and tasty! Don't you dare compare them to your hideous waffles!" Yzak yelled.

"My waffles, hideous! Where the hell is your brain!" Dearka growled. Athrun woke up and rubbed his eyes only to find Nicol trying to stay out of the argument.

"You two stop it! You're gonna wake up the whole colony at this rate!" Athrun stated. The two pilots gave a glance at Athrun and then went right back to arguing. "I give up..." Athrun murmured, turning around just to see Kira wake up, dazed and confused as to what was going on.

On board the Dominion, things were silent save for the quiet discussion going on in one of the quarters.

"Hmph, I don't get why we have to be here." sneered one of the people.

"Calm down before you explode Sting, you're not gonna make it ay better by yelling." stated another.

"You shouldn't be talking Auel." growled Sting, who was getting quite agitated.

"Stella, you're always quiet, are you still thinking about _him_?" Auel questioned.

"Stop it." Stella stated, seeming not in the mood for any of Auel's witty remarks. Their conversation went on, as the time drew closer for their assault...

Rusty and Miguel had finished suiting up and ran towards the hangar. Both of them climbed into their respective GINNs and signaled for launch. Their GINNs were sent out into space as they headed straight for the colony.

"We'll make this fast okay? I'm not in the mood to get involved in anything at the moment." Miguel muttered.

"Sure, whatever you say." Rusty replied, as both of their GINNs sped towards the colony.

Ai smiled happily at the three as she nodded. She then began to make her way toward the door as Birdy flew over to her shoulder.

"I'm fine, don't worry!" she assured them as she opened the door. "I'm going to go out and get some fresh air though... I'm not feeling too hungry right now. I'll be back soon!" And with that the girl rushed out of the base into the fresh air as she fell back onto the ground with a deep sigh. 'Wow... I'm so beat...' she thought as she stared up into the sky.

**Author's Notes:** Haha! Pancakes and waffles! I love that stuff, Tanya's such a genius when it comes to this sort of senseless comic relief. Moving on, yeah so we've finally got the appearance of the Destiny people and it's only what? Phase 31 when they first appear? Wow, we're really warping this series to our own will, huh? Oh well,I haven't heard any complaints so there's not much I can do; and besides this part was played out months ago so there's not much I can do about it now.


	33. Kidnaped!

**Phase 33: Kidnaped! **

The ground rumbled as she sprung up from her place and looked to where the commotion had come from. "What's that? Mobiles..?" she questioned as she walked over to the area in which she had felt the slight tremor.

Raithe had seen Ai dash out from the room and decided to follow after her. As she left the building he stopped his trailing and left her to be alone, after all he knew what it was like. Making his way back he couldn't help but have a strange feeling about leaving her alone. The lights from before had brought some doubt into his mind but he shook it off as he went back to the room to find everyone still passed out on the beds. It was amazing how deeply they all laid there to rest.

"They'll be there for the next century at this rate..." he said sarcastically as he leaned against the wall and shut his eyes as he thought.

Rusty and Miguel had landed in the colony and climbed out of their GINNs.

"Man, this place is fancy..." Rusty commented, glancing around.

"Yeah, now back to the mission okay?" Miguel reminded.

"Alright, if you keep rushing like this we may as well nab the wrong person and have Creuset steaming!" Rusty chuckled as they walked towards the mansion.

Meanwhile, back in the mansion, all of the pilots had emerged from their rooms and were scattered throughout the masion grounds. Many of them were just having conversations with one another in the halls. Shani, however, decided to go for a walk in the gardens. 'Why can't it ever be this quiet?' Shani pondered as he slowly strode through the maze of flowers. He was enjoying the view when something in the distance caught his eye.

"What the..." Shani muttered, running over to check what it was. It was there that he located two GINNs. "Why would ZAFT be here?" Shani asked himself. "Unless they want something..." He stood there pondering about the answer to his question, until the answer popped into his mind. "Shit! It must be us they're after! Ai could be in danger!" Shani gasped, starting a run towards the mansion hoping that nothing has happened.

Back on mansion grounds Rusty and Miguel were still wandering around looking for their target. It was then that they spotted Ai going for her little walk.

"That's her! Well, based on our descriptions anyways..." Miguel exclaimed.

"She's so young, are you sure that's her?" Rusty questioned.

"I'm not really sure, but right now I don't care. We can deal with Creuset's wrath later, right now I just want to get back to the Versalius!" Miguel exclaimed.

"Fine, fine!" Rusty replied. "I'm going!" Rusty made a quick dash for the girl and swiftly subdued her.

"Nice, now let's get back before we get caught." Miguel urged.

"Coming! I'm coming as fast as I can!" Rusty remarked. "I don't see you doing anything to help!" Rusty commented.

"Fine! I'll help, just make it quick!" Miguel replied. The two were stumbling across the grounds trying to reach their GINNs, until they ran straight into Shani. "Argh! Hey what's the big idea?" Miguel questioned. Shani happened to spot Ai, unconscious.

"And just what the hell were you planning to go with her!" he demanded.

"Damn, it just had to get complicated..." Miguel murmured. "Rusty, take care of him. I'll get her to my GINN, just keep him busy!"

"Sure thing...always make me do the hard stuff..." muttered Rusty, who grabbed out a hand gun and pointed it at Shani. "Don't move!" Rusty stated. Shani wasn't about to listen to any ZAFT soldier as he dashed off to the side and managed to grab his own hand gun.

"Let her go!" he growled, firing several shots at Rusty, one of which managed to hit it's intended target on the leg.

"Gah...damn! Miguel! Hurry it up!" Rusty shouted, firing in retaliation while trying to keep upright. One bullet found it's way into Shani's arm while another just barely grazed his cheek.

"Damn you." Shani sneered, shooting once more at the other pilot. "Give her back!"

"Come on Rusty!" Miguel yelled, having already gotten into his GINN along with Ai.

"It's about time!" Rusty hollered, limping towards his GINN and managing to climb in without getting hit a second time.

"Too bad for you." Miguel sneered as the boosters to his GINN finally kicked in, forcing Shani to stay back.

"This can't be happening..." Shani murmured, watching as the GINNs flew out of the colony. "I have to do something, now!" Shani dashed towards the mansion ignoring the fact that he was quickly losing feeling in the arm that had been shot. 'I've got to get there before it's too late.' he thought, trying to ignore the heavy ache he was currently feeling while running as fast as his leg would carry him.

Ai was stunned from the shock, her pursuers had worked very swiftly. 'Everything's so dark…' she thought in her unconscious state. She shivered as pains ran through her small and frail body. Bandages were still wrapped tightly around her and the wounds had almost healed, though few scars remained the pain persisted.

"Argh!" came a sudden piercing screech from Kanta as he awoke to find Meamie clinging to his side. "Get off! Get away! Leave me alone!" he pleaded as he pried the girl from his arms and dashed out the door.

"Wh-what…? Huh..?" Meamie moaned as she suddenly came to her senses due to Kanta's cries. It only took her a few moments to notice that he had left. "Kanta, sweetie! Come back!" she shouted while running after him. Lyai had left the room to join Ayusagi in taking care of matters aboard the Epsilon. Raithe was alone in the room, again. He had decided to go take another walk until he was nearly knocked over by the panicked Shani. Raithe was about to protest when he noticed the trail of blood following the pilot.

"Hold up Shani!" he shouted as he rushed after him. They had both nearly reached the hangar until Raithe pounced Shani and pinned him to the ground. Ripping off some of his shirt material Raithe began to tend to his wound. "You can't go anywhere like that." he scolded as he sealed he wound tightly. "Especially if you plan on piloting your Gundam." Raithe advised to him as he tried to straighten out his outfit while he stood up. "I made a promise to her as well and I'm not about to break it."

--flashback--

"What's this..?" questioned the young Ai still in bed as she held the cylinder.

"It's a multi-purpose device. I looked at some of your sketches and thought it might come in handy." Answered Raithe happily as he leaned closer to her.

"Multi-purpose..? You mean it's like a tool?" she questioned as she began to examine the device more thoroughly. "It's so small…"

"That's the part where it comes in handy. That thing's strong enough to construct a fleet of ships but can easily fit in the palm of your hand!" he stated cheerfully with a hint of pride in his voice.

"You made this for me..?" she questioned innocently. "Bu-But I have nothing to give in return…" she said with guilt as tears drops streamed along her face.

"No, no! It's okay, please don't cry! It's a gift I thought would make the most use with you." He said placing his hand over hers and gently pushing the device to her. "You don't owe me anything, but a name sure would be nice. It doesn't have to be formal, all I want is what you want me to call you by." He suggested as he sat back in the chair.

"What I want?.. hm…" she questioned as she began to contemplate the subject. "You can just call me Ai!" she said cheerfully as she wiped the tears from her face.

"Ai, huh? That's a really nice name. Well Ai, I think it's time I fix that promise I made to you!" he said as he stood up and pushed the chair away. He then kneeled down on his right leg and bowed his head. "I, Raithe, solemnly vow to always answer when my name is uttered and promise to always come to your rescue of this fare maiden, Ai." Ai held in her laughter as she extended the cylinder and tapped it atop his shoulders as she played along.

"And I, Ai, dub thee Sir Raithe, my faith as I entrust to thee my protection…"

--end flashback--

Shani stopped struggling as soon as he heard what Raithe had said.

"Th-They took her...Ai's gone! I couldn't do a thing!" he stammered, trying to stay under control. "I-I have to go out there and get her back!"

"What the hell?" came a voice from behind them. Shani got up in time to see Crot and Orga burst through the door, with Athrun, Kira and the others behind them.

"We saw the blood in the hall and followed the trail." Athrun explained.

"What's going on here?" Yzak questioned, his face holding a puzzled look.

"It was ZAFT! They took Ai!" Shani explained, looking eager to get into Forbidden.

"Wait, ZAFT?" Dearka asked. "How did you know?"

"They piloted GINNs, one of them was bright orange..." Shani recalled, trying to remember anything else of importance.

"Orange? But that could only mean...Did you get a look at the pilots?" Athrun interrogated.

"No, but one of them had blonde hair, while the other had orange hair..." Shani stated.

"Athrun, what if it's Miguel and Rusty? Who else would be paired up? I don't know anyone else in ZAFT with an orange GINN!" Nicol remarked.

"I know, but why Ai?" Athrun muttered.

"Forget the questions, they'll be in a whole new territory if we keep this up!" Yzak commented.

"But if they're here, then that means that the Versalius is also here, along with Cruset." Dearka reminded.

"We're just gonna have to take that chance." Athrun stated.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Crot interrupted.

"I'm getting tired of seeing people talking." Orga remarked.

"Then that settles it, we're gonna get Ai back!" Kira exclaimed. All of the pilots ran to their Gundams as the launch runways were prepped. Shani stopped for a moment and gave Raithe an empathetic look.

"Thanks." he muttered. "But I'm still going out there. I know how it feels to make a promise to someone, which is why I'm going after Ai." After another slight pause, Shani ran in Forbidden's direction, trying to catch up with the other pilots who had gone ahead.

The two GINNs had finally reached the Versalius and had docked in the ship's hangar.

"Argh...that guy, back on that colony, he got me good. I should've been more careful..." Rusty groaned, limping towards sick bay.

"Yeah, I think you should go get that treated...at least we got away with the girl, although I don't know why Creuset would want a child..." Miguel murmured, thoughts clouding his mind. "I'll go turn her into him, you just get some rest." Rusty nodded as Miguel walked off towards Creuset's room. Miguel stared blankly at the girl he was currently carrying and couldn't help but feel sorry for the poor thing. He put on a emotionless expression as he entered. "Commander Creuset, I have the captive with me." Miguel stated. "Rusty was injured by one of the people on the colony, but nothing serious happened that could've jeopardized the mission objective. Anyways, Rusty took care of him."

"Good, I'm glad to hear that, make sure that she doesn't escape and that she feels comfortable in her new surroundings, but don't let her out of this room." Creuset instructed as he threw a card key at Miguel. "Now get her to her room." Creuset stated, turning away from the pilot and resuming his paperwork.

"Yes sir." Miguel replied walking out of the room with the unconscious child. "Sorry..." he muttered, setting Ai down on the bed. "Orders are orders..." Miguel softly shut the door and locked it with the card key he had received from Creuset. He then strode down the hall towards sickbay wanting to check on how Rusty was doing.

Ai slowly opened her eyes as she regained consciousness. Springing up from her place she panicked as she scanned her surroundings.

"Wh-Where!" she stammered as sweat beaded down the back of her neck. 'What's going on? This place is so familiar but where am I!' she thought frantically as she got out of the bed and looked closely around the room. Everything soon came back to her as she sunk down to the floor consumed by tears. 'No... not again...' she thought helplessly as her hands dropped down to support her from falling.

"I don't want to be alone again!" she moaned as her whole body sunk onto the cold floor. 'Everyone... they're all gone... I'm all alone...' she thought continuously as she buried her face in her arms. 'Everything's so cold... I-I can't... I can't let the cold come back... the dark... Please, someone...'

"Please don't leave me here..." she whispered softly as she dragged her tired body back onto the bed and buried herself in the pillow. Any ounce of comfort would help her at the moment, no matter how small it may be. Ai was lost in her thoughts and sadness. The stress that had been put on her was finally beginning to show.

"_You can count on me, though! I'll always be at your side whenever you need me, and that I can say is a promise!"_

"R-... Rai..." her speech cut out as she slipped into a slight coma. She was alone again in a place that she had been before. Ai was the key to this ongoing war but no one truly knew it, not even her...

'Ai... I'm sorry but I can't keep that promise... If they were ever to find out about us then...' he stopped as he turned his head away and tried to shake her image from his mind. _'_I'll stay with OMEGA, Ai. I promise that one day we won't have to hide anymore... We won't have to ever fight again...'

And with that the OMEGA crew set out in Epsilon leaving the colony and all of the pilots behind, along with all of the ties they had set...

Miguel quietly made his way into sick bay. Walking over to Rusty, he saw that the other pilot had fallen asleep with his leg already bandaged and taken care of by the nurses. Miguel had decided that it would've been best if he had let his comrade sleep, after all, he did bother him enough already during the mission. He wandered the halls with nothing of the utmost importance to do. His little stroll in the Versalius brought him back to the room where he had kept the little girl locked in. He felt a slight pang of guilt as he stared at the closed door.

Reluctantly he slid the card key in and watched as the door slid open, it was then that he witnessed the girl's moans. He stood there watching as she hauled herself into the bed and fell unconscious. The scenario was sorrowful and depressing as Miguel saw how much the girl was hurting. Just then, Creuset's words came back to him.

'_Don't let her out of this room.'_

The phrase rang through his head like a chant that just wouldn't go away. He tried to clear his head, but found it near impossible after what he had just witnessed. He had never seen anything so sad before in his life. Miguel decided to confront his commander about why he would need a child onboard and walked back into the hall and straight for Creuset's room, not bothering to lock the door.

When he reached Creuset's room, he found the older man still tending to his unfinished documents.

"Commander Creuset, I've been meaning to ask you something..." Miguel stated, locking gazes with Creuset.

"And what was it that you were going to ask me?" Creuset questioned, seeming more concentrated on his work rather than Miguel.

"It's about the girl, why do we need her onboard?" Miguel blurted, jumping right into his question.

"Ah, her...she has...potential." Creuset explained. "She's different from anyone I've ever seen. Let's just say that I want to observe her..."

"So, you just want to use her to gain knowledge? Why keep her locked up? It seems a bit extreme to me sir." Miguel remarked.

"She's slipped away from me once, but I won't let that happen again." Cruset stated.

"You're hurting the poor girl, I don't see why you have to do this! Causing a child pain, it's despicable!" Miguel argued, getting slightly agitated by the fact that Creuset didn't seem to care about the girl's mental well-being.

"You will not question your commanding officer. I have my motives, now go, I wish to be alone." Creuset coldly remarked.

"Yes sir." Miguel muttered through grit teeth. He quickly walked out of the room, disgusted by Creuset's reactions. He strode to his quarters and laid himself down on the mattress and immediately fell asleep, too tired to think about the girl, Rusty or anything else for that matter...

All of the Gundams had launched and were now in space except for the Aegis and Strike who were personally asked by Lacus to remain in the launch bay.

"Kira, Athrun, I know that this war has been harsh on the both of you, but I just want to help you so I just wanted to give you these..." she explained gesturing to the two covered units in the back of the hangar. The bindings on the Gundams were released as the sheets that had covered the units fell off revealing two new glistening and shining units. "They are Freedom and Justice." Lacus stated. "It is your choice as to which one you wish to pilot."

Kira and Athrun gave each other a nod before running to the units. They were both quickly launched into space and joined up with te other pilots who were waiting just outside the colony.

"Whoa, now how come all of us don't get one of those?" Orga remarked, staring at Freedom's cannons.

"Come on, we have more important matters to attend to." Shani stated.

"Right, let's not waste anymore time talking." Dearka suggested.

All of the Gundams sped towards the Nazca class ship but failed to notice the legged ship some distance behind them.

"Azrael, hurry! Come quick!" shouted one of the operators.

"What now?" Azrael questioned, giving the operator a slightly annoyed look.

"On the screen, this shot was just taken moments ago." explained the operator, bring up and image onto the screen. At first, there were only blurs and patches, but as the operator zoomed in, the picture revealed all of the Gundams, including Forbidden, Calamity and Raider.

"Well well well...looks like we have some 'obsolete' tools wandering around." Azrael sneered, "This'll give me a chance to test out our new 'toys'..."

"Shall I inform them?" asked one of the cadets that happened to be on the bridge.

"Yes, and get them launched as soon as possible, I don't want any delays." Azrael instructed.

"Yes sir." stated the cadet as he ran off to inform the three pilots. He approached their room and walked in. "Be prepped for launch in fifteen minutes, you will receive further instructions then." explained the cadet.

"Why should we?" Sting growled, not wanting to move from his spot. The cadet gave a tired sigh.

"You will get to deal with your lesser counter parts, sound fair enough?" he asked. Sting immediately got a malicious look plastered onto his face.

"Now that's better..." he murmured walking off to get suited up. Stella gave a tired look before following Sting out the door.

"High time we got some action..." Auel muttered, walking right behind Stella. Everything was chaotic on the Dominion as everything was prepared for the launch of the new Gundams...

--flashback--

Alarms began to blare as the soldiers scrambled to their positions. Raithe was still at Ai's bedside but sprung up at the notice of the sudden alarm. He ran up to a control panel and turned on the intercom.

"Commander!" he shouted desperately. "What's going on! You gave an all clear are they back already!" he demanded as he clenched his fists.

"Raithe get up here now. We have to evacuate the facility. I'm afraid that we have no other choice…" responded Ayusagi with a trouble tone. "Bring the girl with you. She has to go to the PLANTs, it's her last chance." He finished as the transmission cut out.

"Come on, Ai! We gotta' get going now!" he said as he took hold of her and rushed out of the room and to the hangar. "I promised that I'd be there whenever you called, Ai, but I can't keep that promise.." he whispered softly to her as he subdued her until she lost consciousness.

--end flashback--

Ai slowly came back to her sense after her brief black out. She had panicked herself and only aggravated her fatigue. Rubbing her head she slowly got up in the bed and turned her head to face the door. 'That's odd…' she thought as she got out of the bed and walked over to the door. It opened up as she moved her hand close nearly making her jump back.

"What in the-..!" she stammered as she got her bearings back. She took a deep breath as she stood back up straight and peaked her head out the door. "I'm back on this ship again..?" she questioned to herself as she walked out of the room. 'This shouldn't be too hard to remember…' she thought, making her way through the hall and trying her best not to be noticed. 'Ill be fine as long as I get to the hangar in time. I bet the others are on their way right now…' she stopped as she had found herself in front of a room. She was about to turn around and leave when another sharp pain ripped through her body.

"Argh! No.. Not again..!" she moaned as she grabbed onto the wall and held her side while she slid onto the floor.

"Raithe you can't go back. Is this what you want..?" asked Ayusagi a bit wearily as he watched Fenrir launch from the ship.

"Yes commander. This is my choice, I'll fight with them. If OMEGA or anyone else is to cross my path the–..." his transmission cut out as Fenrir disappeared in the distance. Ayusagi dropped his head as he returned to his room.

"So it seems that everything is going as planned, eh Erasu?" came a voice from within the shadows.

"I still don't see why we must continue doing things in this manner..." he answered a bit irritated about the strangers sudden intrusion.

"Now, now Erasu. Remember, you agreed to all this in the first place. If this war is ever to end and OMEGA earn it's proper recognition then you know this must be done." Ayusagi reluctantly nodded in agreement to his comments. "Good, then we'll continue with preparations." he said as he was ready to leave. He stopped as he turned his glance back to Ayusagi. "I wonder... Just how much longer until those two finally realize just what exactly they are..."

Miguel was abruptly awoken by a moan coming from the outside hall.

"Wha?" he murmured, rousing from the bed and stretching. He opened the door and found the girl he had kidnapped on the floor and in pain. "Shit! Why me?" Miguel questioned, craddling the girl in his arms and dashing off towards sickbay. He arrived out of breath as one of the doctors greeted him. "Help her, I don't know what's wrong." Miguel stated, handing the girl over to the doctor.

"We'll do what we can." the doctor explained, taking the girl into the wing. All of the ruckus had woken Rusty, who had been peacefully sleeping the whole time.

"Miguel? Why are you here?" Rusty asked, looking at the other pilot in curiosity.

"Long story..." Miguel muttered, taking seat beside the bed.

"Hey, do I look like I'm going anywhere anytime soon?" Rusty chuckled, taking a quick glance at his legs.

"Oh alright." Miguel replied. "You know that girl, the one we captured? Cruset's planning to do something with her..."

"Like what?" Rusty asked.

"I don't know, I just have a bad feeling about what he's going to do to her." Miguel explained, "She just looked like she was falling apart when I checked in on her before talking to Cruset, then I found her collapsed in the hall when I woke up, and that's kinda why I'm here."

"I see." Rusty commented.

"We gotta help her out somehow, I can't stand to see her like that, no one should feel like that, ever..." Miguel remarked, shuddering at the thought of what he had witnessed earlier.

"Heh, you're just a big softie aren't you?" Rusty chuckled.

"Hey! Am not!" Miguel grumbled, unhappy about the comment. "I'm going to go check on her." Miguel stated. "I'll be right back."

"Don't be too long, it's getting way too boring in here!" Rusty remarked, watching as Miguel walked off into another part of the medical wing. Miguel stopped as he saw the girl lying on a bed with several moniters hooked up to her. 'I can't believe that she's this young...' Miguel thought after getting a better look at her. He sat down quietly and waited for any sign of movement from her.

"I see it." Dearka commented, making out some kind of shape in the distance. "I think it is the Versalius!"

"Whatever, I'm don't care what it is as long as we get Ai back." Shani stated. Forbidden and Buster shot towards the ship, with the others following behind them.

**Author's Notes:** I've noticed that some of my flashbacks are getting hard to notice so I decided to go back and label them like what Tanya did so as not to lose even more readers. Anyway, what strange turn of events, huh?We got Miguel and Rusty kidnaping Ai and bringing her back to the Versalius. I'm glad we managed to get those two into the mix, they need some recognition.


	34. Reluctant Return

**Phase 34: Reluctant Return**

"Sir, there are eight Gundams heading towards the Versalius!" exclaimed one of the operators, "We have identified several of the Gundams to be Buster, Duel and Blitz. We also have a lock on Justice and Freedom. The other three seem to be unknown mobile suits. They probably belong to the Earth Alliance."

"Hm...so they're back." Creuset muttered. "Send out our troops and engage them."

"But sir, what about the Duel, Buster and Blitz?" questioned the operator.

"The same applies for them, if they choose to side with the enemy ten they shall be treated so." Creuset stated.

"Yes sir." replied the operator. "All units, launch and engage the enemy!" The announcement rang out loud and clear.

Miguel nearly jumped from his seat in sudden shock.

"Already?" he murmured, taking one last look at the child before dashing off.

"Hey, don't tell me you're going out there!" Rusty remarked, making Miguel stop in his tracks.

"Yes I am and I don't wanna hear about it from you. I'll be back in a bit." Miguel stated, running off once again.

"Fine, just leave me here!" Rusty whined. Within moments, Miguel's GINN was launched and taking the lead in front of the formation.

"Attack!" Miguel commanded. All at once, the other GINNs began to fire at the Gundams.

"Damn! Watch it!" Shani remarked, dodging several shots and reflecting several others with the Panzer system.

"Here, you go on ahead and get Ai back." Athrun stated, getting in front of Forbidden and Buster. "I can handle it while you go and get Ai."

"Thanks." Shani replied, flying off towards the Versalius while the GINNs had their hands full with Justice. It was then that Athrun noticed what was leading the other units.

"Miguel! Is that really you?" Athrun called out through an open com. link.

"Huh? Athun?" Miguel questioned, halting his assault. "Why are you over there? Where on earth have you been?"

"I'll explain later Miguel. Now tell me why you took Ai!" Athrun demanded.

"Ai? Is that her name?" Miguel asked. "Yes, now tell me what you did to her!" Athrun continued.

"She's fine, I think, no harm had come to her, but it seemed as if she wore herself out so she's in sick bay right now." Miguel explained.

"I see, that's good to hear, now please stop your attack, we don't want any harm." Athrun remarked.

"Alright, all of you, cease fire immediately! They mean no harm!" Miguel shouted through the com. system, informing all of the other units. Forbidden and Buster stopped in time to see all of the units falling back.

"That Athrun, always managing to get us out of a jam." Dearka commented.

"I'm just glad that no one got hurt." Nicol remarked. They took no notice of the Archangel class ship that had seemingly appeared further behind their location.

"Now remember, I just want Calamity, Forbidden and Raider." Azrael stated. "I also want their biological CPUs intact."

"Fine." Auel muttered.

"Let's just get out there!" growled Sting, who had a very unhappy look on his face.

"Alright then, launch all of the units now." Azrael commanded. The three new units shot into space and hurtled towards the Gundams.

"What the fuck is that?" Crot remarked, seeing three objects flying towards them at an incredible rate.

"That's no asteroid..." Orga muttered.

"They're...Gundams." Kira stated, zooming in with Freedom's imaging system.

"What are they? I've never seen them before..." Yzak muttered, getting a look for himself on Duel's monitors.

"It looks like they came from that ship, it looks just like the Archangel..." Nicol commented.

"What!" hollered Crot and Orga at the same time.

"No way! That's the Dominion!" Crot exclaimed, feeling all of the hope in the situation drain out of him.

"Shit, how'd Azrael find us so quickly?" Orga mumbled.

"He's got some new 'tools'." Shani remarked, coming to a halt right beside the other units. A transmission came from one of the incoming units.

"Hey losers! We only got business with the three over there!" came a sneer.

"Damn, what cocky sons of a bitch..." Orga grumbled.

"And who the fuck are you! Coming and demanding shit!" Crot growled, already getting annoyed with the new pilots.

"The name's Auel and that's all you need to know! You're just cracked up freaks compared to us!" he taunted. "Abyss is all I need to take down your pathetic hunks of metal!"

"Bastard..." Shani grumbled. "And who are the rest of you? Too scared to speak or what!"

"As if! I'm Sting and we'd be crushing you to bits right now if it weren't for our orders." Sting remarked.

"My name is Stella... I pilot Gaia." came a soft voice from the third Gundam. Orga saw that Buster and Duel were raring to attack but stopped them.

"Stay out of this, they want us and only us. No need to go wasting ammo on _garbage like them_." Orga stated, emphasizing the last part so that everyone could hear.

"So, Azrael's got some new flunkies? Now that's sad..." Crot commented.

"What! I'll show you who's sad!" Sting growled. "Chaos will demolish you!" Chaos immediately shifted to a mobile armor form and started to barrage the trio with missiles. The attack caught them by surprise as most of the missals successfully hit their target. Forbidden, Raider and Calamity retaliated by separating and commencing with attacks of their own, which also successfully hit. Abyss and Gaia, who chose to remain in mobile suit form, shot forward and slammed into Forbidden causing the Panzer system to deactivate.

"Fuck off!" Shani shouted, firing a shot from Forbidden's plasma cannon and knocking one of Gaia's blades off. This caused the pilot to go into a shooting frenzy as Orga, Crot, Shani, Sting and Auel were forced to stay back.

"Stella! Calm down!" Auel shouted, getting grazed by one of the shots.

"Dammit, why don't you just die!" Shani sneered striking Gaia down with Forbidden's heavy scythe. All of a sudden, Stella let out a shrill scream.

"Shit! Now you've gone and done it!" Sting grumbled, maneuvering Chaos next to Gaia.

"What?" Shani questioned, not quite sure of what he had done.

"We're not fucking drug addicts like you!" Auel shouted coming up from behind in that one moment of lapse in attention and striking Forbidden down hard, causing the system to freeze.

"Damn! That bastard!" Shani hissed, trying to get Forbidden's system back online. While Crot and Orga were busy trying to tend to Forbidden, Chaos and Abyss struck them down without a second thought, leaving them in the same condition as Shani.

"Now what!" Orga demanded.

"We just want you to come with us." Sting explained, a hint of malice in his voice.

"Shani! Crot! Orga!" Athrun shouted and was about to rush in to help the fallen units but was cut off by Miguel's GINN. "Miguel, why!" Athrun demanded.

"I'm sorry, I can't have you getting involved with the Earth Allaince anymore..." Miguel muttered.

"No but...Kira!" Athrun shouted, turning around only to find that the Freedom had gone out of sight.

"Perhaps it was for the better..." Miguel stated.

"Kira..." Athrun whispered, wondering as to where his friend could've run off to.

"Athrun, I don't think now's a good time for me, we'll meet again soon..." came a quiet transmission.

"Alright, stay safe until then..." Athrun whispered, closing the link afterwards.

"Come, you should all go back to the Versalius..." Miguel muttered. The four Gundams reluctantly stood there for a moment before following the orange GINN into the hangar.

Meanwhile, the other three units had to be dragged into the Dominion.

"You've done well." Azrael commented.

"Heh, it was easy. These freaks didn't stand a chance!" Auel remarked.

"They did manage to figure out Stella's block word by accident..." Sting added.

"I'll deal with them myself..." Azrael muttered, walking over to the Gundams.

"Sir, shouldn't you be a bit more careful?" questioned Auel.

"Oh, I'm almost certain that I won't need any assistance..." Azrael sneered. He then got one of the mechanics to force one of the cockpits open. "See? Nothing to be worried about, just as I thought." Azrael stated, pulling out Orga who looked like he was on the verge of screaming out in pain.

"What's wrong with him?" Sting questioned.

"Oh, just one of the side effects of being a stage 1 biological CPU. Lucky for you, stage 2 biological CPUs don't have to go through this." Azrael explained. "Get the other two out and throw them into the lounge room, they won't be going anywhere in their condition..."

"Yes sir." stated Auel and Sting, walking up to the two remaining Gundams and dragging out their pilots who bore the same expression.

"Come on, no lagging!" Sting shouted, seeing as how Shani's movements were getting slightly slower.

"Get in there." Auel grumbled, roughly throwing Crot into the room. Auel and Sting walked out, closing the door behind him and leaving only Azrael with the three pilots...

Ai was trying her hardest to rest but after the alarms had gone off she was far from it. However the arrival of her friends would not mean much. Two soldiers entered the room shortly after the battle ended and they had all ceased fire.

"Wh-What do you think you're doing barging in here like that!" protested one of the workers as he was tending to some of the wounded.

"We're here for the girl, carry on with your earlier activities..." said one of the soldiers as he motion for the other to retrieve Ai.

"Hold on now, she was just taken in here as well. You can't expect to take a injured civilian-..."

"She's a Natural, it's better this way..." interjected the soldier as he unhooked Ai from the equipment and took the child in his arms.

"W-Wait just a minute!"

"These are orders now continue your work!" commanded the soldier as the two quickly departed and made their way toward the hangar.

"Send her where!" stammered the mechanic as he shifted his eyes from Ai to the soldier. "But that ship, it's full of..."

"These are the direct orders from Commander Rau Le Creuset. We are to transfer the child immediately onto Minerva. Do you dare question his commands?" shot back the soldier who was beginning to get a bit irritated by the whole situation. The mechanic nearly fell back at his tone as he rushed to get the preparations completed.

"Okay it's all set!" he answered back a bit wearily.

"Good then..." said the soldier as he roughly placed the child in the vessel. "Open up a link with the crew and tell them that the child will be arriving shortly."

"I should have acted..." complained Ai to herself alone in the vessel on it's path to the new ship. She looked back as she saw all of what she knew to slowly be slipping from her grasp again. 'Why must this war... why must any war..?' she thought as she slowly fell asleep in the vessel heading its way swiftly to the ship.

"How dare you..." growled Azrael, who sent a cold glare towards the pilots. "You betray this organization, then show up from out of nowhere? What nerve!"

"D-Did we ever say we wanted to come back?" Shani stuttered, trying not to become overwhelmed by the pain.

"Well, you have no choice in that matter, but at least now you damned pieces of equipment can be of some use to me..." Azrael smugly replied.

"W-What now you sadistic bitch?" Crot murmured.

"I've heard quite some interesting rumors floating around about that girl..." Azrael commented. All of the three pilots immediately looked up.

"W-What did you say?" Orga questioned, wishing that he had heard wrong.

"Oh, I just wanted to ask a few questions pertaining to that girl." Azrael explained, not caring that the conditions of the pilots around him seemed to be getting worse with every passing moment, "Now tell me, where is she? Where are you hiding her?"

"W-We don't know..." Shani muttered.

"Come now, you must know something..." Azrael urged, starting to sound slightly desperate for any information about the girl.

"Fuck off..." Crot hissed, ignoring the pain and sending a glare in Azrael's direction.

"Hmph, ignorant tool..." Azrael muttered, getting irritated by the actions of the pilots.

Suddenly a knock came from the door.

"What? I said no interruptions!" Azrael growled. Stella walked through the door, an emotionless expression plastered onto her face.

"I have something I think you should know about." Stella stated.

"Not now..." Azrael muttered, brushing her off and trying to get back to the three pilots.

"Sir, it's about the girl..." she added.

"Why didn't you tell me that in the first place!" Azrael demanded, a hint of interest showing in his eyes. "Why don't you come out into the hall..." Stella and Azrael strode unto the hall as the door closed behind them. "This had better be good." Azrael remarked, waiting for Stella to elaborate on the situation.

"There's been a transport unit that was launched from the Versalius not too long ago. It seems that they're moving the girl onto another vessel." Stella explained.

"Well now, this changes everything." Azrael murmured, a smirk appearing on his face. "Have Sting and Auel bring the pilots onto the bridge, I have something I want to show them..."

"Yes sir." Stella stated before walking off. Azrael quickly made his way to the bridge.

"Azrael, sir, we have confirmation on the transport vessel." stated one of the operators.

"Good, now get a closer view on it." Azrael commanded.

"Right away sir." came the quick reply from the operator. The Dominion's systems homed in on the transport vessel and managed to get a clear view. It was then that Sting and Auel walked in dragging Shani, Crot and Orga.

"Here they are, just as you wanted sir." Sting stated.

"You may leave now." Azrael instructed. Auel and Sting gave slight nods and left the bridge. "I think you may find what's on the screen quite interesting..." Azrael commented. Shani, Orga and Crot stared briefly at the screen before returning their gaze to meet Azrael's.

"So, it's a transport vessel...what about it?" Orga questioned.

"It seems that ZAFT wanted to move you little friend onto another ship." Azrael explained. "But you know...she doesn't have to reach that ship..."

"You wouldn't dare!" Shani interjected.

"Oh really? Target all helldarts on that transport vessel." Azrael calmly stated. "Fire on my mark..." The color seemed to drain out of the faces of all three of the pilots as they heard what commands were issued.

"No! Wait! Don't do it!" Shani interrupted.

"Why shouldn't I?" Azrael taunted. "I suppose I don't have logical reason as to why I should stop this attack..."

"Please, we'll do anything, just leave her out of this!" Crot pleaded.

"What's this? I may consider your generous offer..." Azrael remarked.

"She's just a child! A natural none the less! You can't do this to her!" Orga reasoned.

"If you care so much about her life, then how about working for me once again?" Azrael suggested.

"What!" Crot remarked, shocked and appalled by the offer.

"Yes, you heard me correctly, if you deny my offer, then the girl dies." Azrael stated. Shani, Crot and Orga looked at one another and gravely nodded.

"Fine, we'll do it, call off the assault." Shani grumbled.

"Wonderful, I thought you'd see things my way sooner or later." Azrael remarked, shoving several familiar glass vials into their hands. "Stop the assault." Shani, Orga and Crot looked at the vials in dismay. "Drink up, unless you would like to remain in pain." Azrael commented, giving the pilots an intent look. The three pilots gave disgusted looks but drank the contents of the vial anyways. "See, now it wasn't that bad..." Azrael remarked. "You'll have a new mission soon enough, so don't get too comfortable. By the way, you have three new teammates... I'm sure you've already gotten acquainted on the battlefield. I'll leave you three alone now." Azrael took one last glance at the pilots before heading off into the hall.

"What have we gotten ourselves into this time?" Crot questioned.

"I dunno, but nothing good's gonna come out of it..." Shani mumbled.

**Author's Notes:** How cruel, using Ai's life in order to get to the Druggies. So yes, we went and shipped Ai off to the Minerva! (My idea, don't get on Tanya's case...) Though, in all honesty whan I proposed that idea I had not clue we'd actually play off of it, but we did anyway. As for appearances, let's just say we were very bad about the Minerva crew... (Don't hurt me!)


	35. Behemoth's Last Stand

**Phase 35: Behemoth's Last Stand**

"The transport unit has been received." stated one of the soldiers. All at once, more soldiers started to crowd around the vessel.

"Hey, I wanna see! Come on! Move! I wanna see too!" came a loud voice from behind.

"Oh look, Shinn's decided to join us." commented another soldier. Shinn sent the soldier a cold glare and made his way towards the vessel. When he reached the vessel, a strange sight graced his eyes.

"Why'd the Versalius send us a little girl?" Shinn questioned to no one in particular. Everyone was still crowding around the vessel waiting for any actions from the girl. Ai slowly opened her eyes to be greeted by the many ZAFT onlookers. Her gaze wandered around as she met eye contact with the many crowded around her. 'What is this..?' she thought to herself as she saw the one person making the loudest uproar. 'Little..!' she fumed as she clenched her fist from his comments. 'Who does he think he is!' she demanded in her thoughts. She was about to go for her tool when something nearby caught her attention on a transmission.

"Good then, so she made it out safely. The unit is ready. Whenever you see it fit we shall send it over." came a familiar voice. 'Wait a minute...' she thought as she looked to the source. 'I know that voice..!' She was about to attempt to leave the spectators quietly but soon found herself boxed in with the only indifferent soldier.

"So our target is that legged ship?" questioned Meamie as she set up a link between the other units.

"Yes. You and Pegasus will fire a warning just enough to stir the ship. Then they will counter and launch their mobile suits. You will continue combat until we take control of those units." answered Lyai as she ran through the plan with Meamie.

"That's no fair! You get to sit there and watch while Pegasus and I do all the work!" she whined from the cockpit as she began to pout.

"Stop your complaining Meamie!" interrupted Kanta. "Lyai and the Leviathan have to stay behind to protect the Epsilon and the commander, and besides Behemoth has to engage the enemy as well. So don't go saying it like you're the only one fighting..." he stated as the three readied for launch.

"Oh Kanta I'm so sorry! I didn't mean it sweetie, I-..."

"Enough Ensign Troughman!" interrupted Ayusagi as he appeared on screen. "We will follow the orders and not question OMEGA's authority, you got it? Now launch!" he commanded. The three units launched onto the field and took their positions. Pegasus readied it's weapons as it targeted the ship.

"I have the Dominion in sights, readying firearms for warning assault. Ready... Aim... FIRE!" A barrage of fire was sent toward the ship as a new battle was about to begin. OMEGA now awaited the reaction of this new stir of events.

Shani, Crot and Orga were still wandering around until a giant shockwaves hit the side of the ship sending the three pilots tumbling.

"Ow...dammit! What the hell!" Crot growled, trying to get back up.

"Some unit's trying to overtake the ship..." Shani muttered, staring apathetically out the window.

"Three...two...one..." Orga counted. Right after the words had left his mouth, the alarm sounded as everything was put into red alert.

"All available units are to launch immediately!" stated the voice from the intercom.

"Here we go again..." Crot grumbled, starting to trudge down the corridor to get suited up.

"Damned alarm..." Shani commented, shoving his earphones into his ears trying to block out the shrill noise of the alarm. Orga just trailed after the two, trying to ignore the whole situation.

"Are those pilots and units prepped yet!" Azrael questioned. "We're losing more energy every moment they strike us!"

"Sir, the Gaia, Chaos and Abyss are ready for launch, but the pilots of the Calamity, Forbidden and Raider aren't properly suited." explained one of the operators.

"Very well then, launch the units that are ready and have them assault the ship, we'll use the others to attack the three units." Azrael replied. Gaia was the first to be launched from the Dominion followed soon after by Chaos and Abyss.

"Do we have to work with those freaks?" Auel remarked.

"It doesn't matter, we have orders dammit, and I'm actually gonna keep them." Sting commented, zooming off towards the Epsilon.

"All we have to do is attack their ship, weather or not we destroy it or just damage it was not stated." Stella explained.

"Well, then let's kill it!" Auel remarked, flying full speed. Gaia followed, Stella wasn't about to let the excitement of battle get her riled up as much as it did the others.

Immediately, the Chaos and Abyss begin striking at the ship using various weaponry and tactics while the Gaia engaged the Leviathan unit in order to keep it busy and away from the other two units. Gaia shifted to it's mobile armor form and charged for the Leviathan with it's blades activated.

"I will not let you interfere!" Stella remarked, landing a solid blow to Lyai.

Meanwhile the Forbidden, Calamity and Raider were launched from the Dominion. Shani and Orga both spotted the Behemoth and shot towards the unit in an attempt to overpower the lone unit two to one. Crot, who had slightly lagged behind saw the Pegasus, which had been bombarding the Dominion with fire.

"Your time's up!" Crot growled sending round after round towards Meamie.

"You can't escape...it's fucking hopeless to even try!" Shani taunted, bashing the Behemoth with the heavy scythe.

"Come on, is that all you have? Too bad for you, bastard!" Orga yelled, firing several rounds from his bazooka then alternating to the energy cannon that was mounted on Calamity's chest.

"You can't escape, I'll annihilate you!" Crot growled, sending Raider's spherical breaker going full speed towards the Pegasus. "Terminate!"

Everything in the battle had happened so fast as OMEGA was swiftly out manned and outnumbered by their forces. The Epsilon held it's ground against the two units as Ayusagi struggle to keep contact with the other pilots.

"Ensign Nagareru, Ensign Troughman and Ensign McGreyson please respond!" he shouted as he continued to fight off the two. 'Damn they're keeping up a better fight then I planned...' he thought as the truth of the situation was slowly sinking in. Just then transmissions from the three poured in.

"Ayusagi is that you?"

"C-Comander..?"

"Erasu!"

"You're all there, good. Keep up the fight and don't fall back if we can keep them distracted long enough for the plan to succeed then all will be well!" he urged the three as he tried to hide his conflicting feelings on the situation.

"Alright then, I'm bringing in Leviathan for your support sir!" answered Lyai as she quickly took her chance to retreat over to the ship and help cover it. "You, I don't know who you three are but you will not interfere!" she shouted as she sent a flurry of cover fire.

Meanwhile Kanta was having a rough time against the Forbidden and Calamity. Behemoth's systems were still in the green but his reaction speed lacked and it was beginning to become quite the problem for the ensign.

"Damn it all!" he shouted in frustration as he knocked the Forbidden back. It was to no avail as the two units continued their relentless assault on the lone fighter. "That's it!" Kanta sneered as he got the Forbidden in his sights. Taking close range he took tight hold of the unit and sent it flying back toward the Calamity.

"Hmph, how about that!" he remarked as he took a deep breath and took his chance to try and get a word in to the girls. "Man, what's with these guys? What happened while we were gone?" He stopped his questioning as he scanned the battlefield while he awaited the other two units to retaliate.

Meamie was paying no mind to anything around her at all until she was suddenly charged by the Raider.

"No I won't!" she shouted out to the Raider. "I won't fight back! I won't fight against you like this!" Just as she pleaded out to him a final blow was sent toward the unguarded Pegasus as Meamie helplessly watched the attack close in... but it made no impact on herself.

Staring, eyes wide open at the horrid sight before her, tears began to line her eyes.

"KANTA NO!" she shouted helplessly as the Behemoth appeared limply before her consuming the full impact of the attack. A bloodied face took the screen as Kanta look at his team weakly.

Everything seemed to freeze up as Meamie screamed out those words. Shani and Orga, who had managed to recover from Kanta's throw could only watch as the scene unfolded before them. Stella, Auel and Sting froze up as they saw the Behemoth take a hit for the Pegasus. Crot sat there in his cockpit trying to make any sort of movement at all but found the feat nearly impossible. Everyone had their eyes trained on the Behemoth, watching to see what was to become of the severely damaged unit.

"C-Comander...Lyai..." he spoke out in a frail tone. "I-I'm so... sorry that I couldn't... couldn't-..." he let out a painful cough as blood was found littering his every move.

"Kanta... Please Kanta come back to the ship!" Lyai pleaded to him as she focused solely on the fact that his unit was still moving. He shook his head slowly in response as he saw Erasu with his usual face only this time regretful.

"Ensign... No, Kanta listen to reason, you can't go on and-!"

"I'm... done here sir..." he replied to him as he ended the conversation with the two. Manuerving himself ever so carefully he turned to face the Pegasus. Meamie, who was now completely consumed in tears, watched as he gazed deeply into her eyes.

"K-Kanta... Kanta I-!"

"I know... I know... Meamie..." he said softly to her. "Meamie..."

"Kanta please don't go... You can't go! Kanta please!" she pleaded to him trying her hardest to hod her own together. Kanta looked deeply at her as his entire expression seemingly changed. With a warm and tender smile a single tear began to drop from his eye. "You made a promise Kanta... No you can't..."

"Meamie... I'm sorry... I-I can't keep that... that promise I made so long ago..." his words were beginning to cut out but the image on the screen was clear. With the last of his strength he spoke out to her with his very heart and soul...

"Meamie... Don't ever forget that promise that I never could keep... because-... because..." his image was now becoming static as it flashed on and off rampantly on her screen.

Meamie looked to it desperately as she cried out to him. "Kanta-!"

"_I love you... Meamie..." _

And with those words his image flashed one last time on their screens. The last time any of them would ever see his face again...

"KANTA! KANTA!" Meamie shouted desperately to him as the Behemoth was consumed by flames. "Kanta... Kanta please come back... Kanta... Kanta... KANTA!" Lyai and the Epsilon had already made their way over to her as the Leviathan moved in on her.

"Meamie... it's done... Please, we have to go back now..." she reasoned to her, though she could not deny the tears.

"No! Kanta please... Please come back to me Kanta!"

"That's enough Meamie!... Please..."

Reluctantly but surely enough both units retreated along with the Epsilon...

Ai stood there in complete terror as she saw the events unfold from a window. She had managed to rush out of the crowd only to fall witness to such a tragic scene. Tears streamed her eyes as she watched helplessly from the sidelines. 'Why... Why did it have to happen like that..?' she thought as she gazed out the window.

"Why..?"

"W-What have I done?" Crot murmured, frozen in place.

"The enemy ship is retreating, all units return to the Dominion at once!" came the operator through the com. system. Gaia, Chaos and Abyss immediately returned to the Dominion. Forbidden and Calamity were about to do the same until they saw no movement coming from the Raider whatsoever.

"Crot?" Orga asked through the com. system. "You coming?"

No reply was made from the other unit as the link was abruptly cut off.

"Hey! I'm just trying to help..." Orga grumbled.

"Let's get him back to the ship...anyways, I think those drugs are gonna wear off soon." Shani muttered grabbing Raider with Forbidden and gesturing for Calamity to help. The two units slowly made their way back to the Dominion's hangar area while supporting the third. Sure enough, as soon as they reached the hangar a familiar searing pain crept back into their bodies.

"Damn..." Shani groaned, trying to make his way out of Forbidden's cockpit. Orga had managed to get himself out of Calamity's cockpit, but couldn't do more than that because the pain was threatening to overtake him. The two pilots ended up being dragged back to the labs by soldiers as the mechanics tried to force open the Raider's cockpit.

"L-Leave me alone..." Crot whimpered, trying to ignore the pain. The mechanics finally managed to pry the cockpit open and drag the reluctant pilot back to the labs. Azrael stood waiting, a malicious smile on his face.

"Wonderful job out there!" he exclaimed, offering the new dosage of drugs. "Especially you." Azrael remarked, glancing at Crot. "You even managed to destroy one of them!" Crot just looked down, trying to keep his face hidden from the other pilots as soon as Azrael had mentioned the fact. Shani and Orga remained silent, but kept glancing at Crot in the meantime, trying to see if he was alright. After Azrael had dismissed the three pilots they quickly walked out the door. Shani and Orga were slightly dumbfounded by how quickly Crot had retreated back to his room.

"We should just leave him alone for a while, he's been through so much..." Orga muttered, walking off towards his own room. Shani slightly nodded as he left for his room. As everything seemed to slow down in the Dominion, everything was silent save for Crot's muttering.

"H-How did everything fly out of hand?" Crot moaned, tossing and turning in his bed. "I didn't mean to kill him!" His mind flashed back to when they had first met; everything had seemed alright back then, but now things just seemed to spiral out of control. "Meamie...I'm sorry, so sorry..." Crot murmured, knowing that his little plea will not be heard. He managed to curl up and fall into an uneasy sleep as the night wasted away and the minutes ticked by...

Shinn had witnessed the whole incident unfold from a window in the Minerva. He had snuck out of the crowd with the strange little girl only to witness the demolition of a Gundam. He eyes then fell to the saddened child before him.

"Hey, don't worry, I know that it's a bit of a shocker, but things like that can happen during a war..." Shinn commented, a brief flash of his sister popped into his mind, but he abruptly pushed it to the back of his mind. "Let me show you to your room." Shinn suggested, gently grabbing her hand in an attempt to lead her away from the window. "The feelings will all go away and there won't be anymore hurt..."

Crot lay wide awake in his bed, still thinking about the earlier events that seemed to keep replaying themselves in his head.

"N-No...it's just not possible..." Crot groaned, trying to shove the images away. Everything hurt, not physically, but emotionally. "W-Why is this happening? I-I've killed before, so why is this so different?" he questioned to himself. He slightly shuddered at the thought of seeing the Behemoth explode into flames right before his eyes. "I-I just need a walk to clear my mind...I-I just can't take this anymore..." he muttered, getting up from his bed and walking out of his room. He tried to contemplate everything that happened. He remembered the instant when Raider's spherical breaker struck the other Gundam with tremendous force that it sent recoils back to his unit.

Everything was just so overwhelming, it all happened so fast, everything was just flying out of control. Crot was beginning to feel a bit sick from thinking about all this and decided it best that he returned to his room. There, he attempted to once again fall asleep and drifted off...

--dream sequence--

"Where am I?" Crot muttered, for it seemed that the darkness went on and on. He heard something in the distance...

"What the..." he murmured, trying to figure out what the sound was and where it was coming from. He then realized that it was the sound of someone sobbing. "Hello? Is anyone here?" he questioned. All he got was more sobbing.

He began to run after the source of the noise. It seemed that he had been running for ages until he stumbled upon a person hunched over in tears. Crot looked closer and found it to be Meamie. She sadly looked up and gave Crot a hopeless look. Her lips moved but Crot couldn't seem to make out the words she was saying.

"What..?" he asked, trying to get her to repeat her words.

"You killed him..." she muttered. Crot just froze, everything had come back in an instant. "Murderer! You Murderer!" she hollered at him. Crot didn't know what to do, but when he looked at his hands, he found them to be stained in blood...Kanta's blood.

"N-No! N-Not again! Please! Just make it stop!" Crot hollered.

--end dream sequence--

In that moment everything just shattered as Crot once again woke up in his bed covered in sweat. He was slightly trembling as he crawled over to one corner of his bed and curled up into a huddled position. The sick feeling he had when he was walking around had come back, but it was worse as ever.

"W-What's happening to me?" Crot whispered. He just felt so...guilty, and he didn't know what to do.

**Author's Notes:** And this is where I pay my dearest condolences to the belated Kanta. I truly never did intend for the events to shift so badly as to actually kill off anyone but somehow it just sort of happened. Kanta McGreyson, pilot of the Behemoth and love of Meamie's life; his death was not in vain and his life will always be treasured. As for those who must cope with these events... We may never truly know the answer to their feelings...

_Rest in Peace Kanta McGreyson..._


	36. Regretful Thoughts

**Phase 36: Regretful Thoughts**

Ai was torn and confused on what had just occurred. It was all beginning to weigh down on her mind as she continued to follow the pilot. 'Wh... What's going on..?' she thought to herself though the tears still running down her face showed what she was truly feeling.

"Crot..." she whispered softly as she took a glance back to the window.

"Meamie!" shouted Lyai from outside the room in frustration. "Meamie please come out you can't stay in there forever!"

"Go away! Leav-... Leave me alone..." came a cold voice from within the room.

"Meamie... please..." Lyai urged as she walked over to the door and leaned her head against it. "I know it hurts Meamie..." she whispered to her as she finally gave into her wishes and walked back to the deck.

"So she's still in there I presume?" questioned Ayusagi as he watched the door open and Lyai walk in slowly. A solemn tone filled the atmosphere.

"Yes, but there's not much we can do for her in the meantime, sir." she replied as she walked over to him. "I'd suggest we continue with schedule." He nodded in response.

"Yes, you're right... It's time we made our way back to ORB."

Meanwhile Meamie lay huddled in the corner of her room, tears dripping onto the cold floor.

"Kanta... Kanta..." she muttered over and over again. Her hair flowed into her face as she grasped desperately onto her snow white ribbons. "Kanta... Y-You can't be... You can't be gone!"

An old and faded picture floated to the floor in front of her...

--flashback--

"We're under attack!" shouted a civilian as the streets were soon flooded with people. A battle was raging nearby and was slowly moving closer to the small area. Shrill cries and the sound of gunfire could be heard all around.

"Come on we have to get out of here!" shouted a boy as he dragged along a young girl. She was reluctant to leave the area but was forced to at the nearby sound of assault.

"W-Wait! Ah-!" she let out a slight scream as she fell to the ground. The boy rushed over to her side as he took her hand and pulled her up. Her leg was badly injured her ability to follow him had been completely compromised. Picking her up he took her in his arms and rushed from the area. "W-Why are you helping me?" she questioned to him as she saw the fact that he was also injured.

"I'm doing this because we still have to live!" he replied as he continued onward toward the ship.

"Still have to live..?" she questioned softly. He smiled and nodded to her as his pace increased.

"Yeah. That's right. We still have to live because there's always something more to fight for!" he answered to her with pride as he finally made it to the ship. "That way, even if you do die, those people who you've been fighting with will fight on."

"Kanta..?" she asked softly to him as he set her down on the bed.

"Yeah, what is it Meamie?" he questioned.

"Promise me... promise me you won't die!" she answered as she clung onto him, tears flowing from within her gentle gaze. His expression softened some as he gently laid her back on the bed and wiped the tears from her face. He smiled as he took something from his pocket.

"I promise..." he replied as he took the ribbon and tied it around her long flowing hair. "I'll never leave your side Meamie..."

--end flashback--

"Sir, we need to repair the ship." stated an operator. "We've taken some heavy damage from that last assault..."

"Dammit...We need to get repairs and fast...take us to ORB this instant!" Azrael stated.

"O-ORB sir? But they're neutral! We can't go having them make repairs and such on our ship! That's just wrong!" replied the operator.

"I don't care! We'll demand it by force if that's what it takes!" Azrael retorted. "Get the Dominion there at once!"

"Right sir..." muttered the operator. "Preparing for reentry, I repeat, preparing for reentry." The announcement was heard all through the intercom as little people payed any thought on the subject.

"Hmph, that damned neutral nation had better fix these damages no matter what!" grumbled Azrael as he walked off the bridge.

"Here's your room." Shinn stated as he led the new girl to her quarters. "You feeling okay? You haven't been looking so hot..." He looked closer into her eyes and noticed a look of sorrow and regret in them. "Hey, don't let that battle get to you, you're gonna make yourself sick if you keep thinking about these things too much." Shinn commented. "It's not good for anyone!"

He gave her a small smile, trying to encourage some positive behavior from the child.

"Listen, if you need anything, I'm here okay? I'm Shinn Asuka, just call me Shinn," he remarked, giving her another smile before leaving the room.

"What happened to them?" muttered Yzak, who had witnessed the events between the Dominion and the Epsilon along with all of the other ZAFT pilots.

"I don't know, but there's several things I wanna ask Creuset..." Athrun muttered, setting off for his commander's office.

The event had occurred just as they had gotten settled in the ship and had come as a shocker to everyone.

"Commander? May I come in?" Athrun questioned, giving the door a slight knock.

"Yes, you may come in..." came Creuset's voice from the inside of the room. Athrun stepped in and immediately confronted Creuset.

"Where's Ai?" Athrun demanded. "I don't want any games..."

"The girl?" Creuset questioned. "She's been sent to another vessel, the Minerva to be exact."

"You did what!" Athrun exclaimed.

"Oh, don't fret, she's quite alright, maybe you could even see her when we reach ORB..."

"ORB? Why there?" Athrun asked, his thoughts flashing briefly to Cagalli.

"That right now is none of your concern...now get out, I don't need anymore interruptions." Creuset stated, ushering Athrun out the door. 'Wonder what that was all about...' Athrun thought, making his way back to the others.

Ai stood there for a moment as the boy left her in the room. She was alone again and she knew she didn't want to be. Standing there for a few moments she thought about what had been occurring and now all of this. 'It just hurts...' she thought as she shoved the thoughts from her mind.

'I don't know what to do anymore...' Looking at the door she stood there staring at it and thinking for a moment and then finally burst through the door. Running over to Shinn grabbed hold of him from behind, tears once again flowing from her tired eyes.

"Don't go..." she whispered softly to him. "Please... please don't go..." Shinn was slightly surprised by the girl's actions.

"Wha?" he questioned, turning around so that he could face the little girl who had grabbed a hold of him. He saw the reflection of sadness in her eyes from the events of the past. "Well, if you insist, then I don't see the problem, although I do need to report to the bridge for a bit, so maybe you could come along." Shinn explained, once again taking a hold of her hand and leading her to the Minerva's bridge. "I'm here captain." Shinn stated, still holding Ai's hand.

"Well, we are to head to ORB, at least that is what we have been informed." the captain stated, glancing with slight curiosity at Ai.

"ORB? Why there?" Shinn questioned. "Isn't ORB a neutral nation?" The captain gave a small sigh as she once again focused her attention on Shinn.

"We have received clear orders from the Versalius to report to ORB." the captain explained.

"I see..." Shinn muttered. "Is that all you wanted to say to me captain?" The captain gave a slight nod, still eyeing Ai. Shinn nearly dragged her out of the room and back to her quarters. Shinn looked at Ai a bit apologetically. "Sorry, I just couldn't stand being there..." he remarked. "Now, I never got your name..."

"Crot! Dammit! Come out here!" Orga shouted while knocking on the door.

"You can't stay in there forever! Get your ass out here!" Shani hollered, trying to gain access into the silent room.

"Go away..." came a muffled cry from the inside.

"Stop being such a bastard!" Orga commented.

"Don't make us come in there..." Shani grumbled, the key card already in his hand. Silence once again filled the halls as the two pilots gave a slight pause to see if Crot would react.

"Let's just get on with it." Orga grumbled, snatching the card key from Shani's hands and swiping it through the slot. "Crot? Hey, are you dead or what?" Orga questioned, trying to scan through the pitch black room for any sign of Crot. Shani slowly stepped into the room. "Where are you? Don't try to hide dammit!" Orga called, following Shani into the room. A slight click was heard. Orga abruptly turned around, just to come face to face with the nozzle of Crot's handgun.

"_I said go away_..." Crot murmured, trembling and still holding the handgun at point blank range with his finger on the trigger.

"Don't go doing anything too hasty..." Orga muttered, trying to move away from the gun's trajectory.

"After all, you already killed once..." Shani added.

At the sound of those words, Crot dropped the handgun and trudged back to the bed, crawling back to his little corner in which he huddled back into and continued to glare daggers at the two pilots still standing in his room.

"Come on...I don't he wants any contact at the moment, let's go." Shani commented, walking out the door. Orga gave Crot one last glance and left. Left alone in the darkness, Crot stared at the discarded handgun on the ground as the memories of the recent battle drifted back into his mind.

"I'm a monster..." he muttered, burying his head into his arms.

**Author's Notes:** It seems that Kanta's death is weighing down heavily on everyone now. We never knew that the passing of a single character could cause the mood to shift so drastically in the story. Either way though, it seems all of them are heading to the same place; ORB. I know; WHAT? ORB AGAIN, please spare me... - -; It's all for a good reason. Some interesting things will be happening down there. Let's pray for the best; both Crot and Meamie are pretty bent out of shape about the whole thing so who knows... Oh and just for your curiousity: the faded picture was a photo of when Meamie met Kanta and he was tying her hair up, she kissed him on the cheek in the photo which caused him to blush and so on and so forth.


	37. A New Companion

**Phase 37:** **A New Companion**

Ai looked up at him as she wiped the tears from her eyes. She tried her best to smile or even seem a bit happy but in the end it was a vein attempt.

"M-... My name is Aiorem Heiwa..." she said softly to him, though her head turned away from his gaze. "Or just Ai..." She felt a desperate need to run from him but in truth it was not Shinn she wished to run away from but this entire war. How she wished everything could have been the same. That she had never existed in this never-ending war... 'Why can't I-...' she thought as a pained look took her face.

"Why can't I help them..?" she muttered under her breath as her tears continued to flow. Shinn took notice of the feined attempt of happiness.

"Don't hide your feelings..." he murmured. "You should let it out rather than keeping it all bottled up on the inside." Shinn had heard Ai's little mutter quite clearly due to the silence of the room.

"Help who Ai?" he questioned. "It won't hurt to talk now would it? Anyways, it might make you feel better." He sat down on the bed and motioned for Ai to join him. "We've got a long ways to go before we reach ORB and I've never been one for too much quiet..." Shinn remarked. He couldn't stand to see the poor child cry anymore, it just seemed to bring back all the hurt from when his sister was taken from him.

"Ai...let me help you." Shinn whispered. "I know I haven't known you for that long, but let me try to help."

Athrun had made his way back to the group and immediately confronted Miguel.

"I thought you said she was in sick bay!" he growled, feeling a bit angry at his old mentor.

"She was!" Miguel argued, feeling a bit childish to be arguing with his old student.

"Well Creuset said that she was sent to the Minerva!" Athrun stated, looking at Miguel with a cold glare.

"They must've transferred her sometime during or after the battle! I swear, I didn't know a thing!" Miguel commented, trying to defend himself in the current argument.

The other ZAFT pilots had begun to whisper amongst themselves, leaving Rusty slightly confused as he shot Miguel a couple shrugs.

"Listen Athrun, I'm sure we can work this out, after all, the Minerva is going to ORB right? I'm sure we can do something about it there." Miguel reasoned, trying to keep Athrun from biting his head off. Athrun calmed down a bit after hearing the last piece of Miguel's speech.

"Fine, but she'd better be alright..." Athrun grumbled leaving the hall in a huff. The rest of the ZAFT pilots began giving Miguel weird stares including one from a very confused Rusty.

"Uh...what? I didn't do anything!" Miguel remarked, not wanting to deal with the other pilots at the moment. The small group of pilots began to disperse as everyone went off on their own, waiting until they finally reached ORB.

Ai hushed her breathing as she tried to calm herself down enough to hear Shinn's words. Nodding her head slightly she slowly made her way over to his side. There, on the bed she looked up at him, her tears still flowing freely, and broke down in her sorrow.

"I-I don't know what to do anymore!" she cried out, trying to hide herself from Shinn. "They-... They're my friends! They're all my... my friends... but now-.." he words were becoming choked as she struggle to give him the message. She didn't know what else to do so she kept crying and continued to hide her face from him. Everything she had been thinking, everything she was fighting for, it had all become so clouded in her mind now.

Shinn's mind reflected back to the battle they had witnessed before. 'She knew them!' Shinn questioned to himself. 'Just who is she?'

"Why didn't you tell me that you knew them...maybe I could've done something with Impulse..." he stated, feeling overwhelmed by all this information all at once. He gave another tired sigh, trying to rid his mind of the thoughts of when his sister had perished because he couldn't do anything that could've prevented it from happening in the first place. "I really didn't know...please don't cry...it'll be okay." Shinn reassured, trying to get Ai to calm down a bit, but what he had done was to no avail. He didn't know what to do, it seemed that Ai would never be happy again by the way she was crying at the moment. Shinn was starting to panic thinking that he had done something wrong to upset the poor thing.

"Please don't worry! I can't stand to see you like this, I can't stand to see anyone like this!" Shinn suddenly remarked, grabbing Ai and holding her close. 'What have I just done?' Shinn thought, waiting for any kind of reaction from Ai.

"We are now in the earth's atmosphere and will be reaching ORB shortly, everyone is required to stay onboard the ship until we get further instructions." explained the operator as he broadcasted the announcement through the intercom. Shani and Orga were busy with their daily activities, not bothering to even listen to the intercom. Crot was still in his secluded room, he had managed to somehow shut everything out as he seemed to be staring into nothing but a blank void. He had remained motionless for quite sometime now and he wasn't about to anytime soon.

"I will handle all negotiations on ORB, just give me about half an hour and we'll have this legged ship repaired in no time." Azrael stated, making sure that everyone the bridge heard him. "After all, they'll have no choice in the matter..." Azrael muttered, walking off to inform Stella, Sting and Auel of the coming mission they had...

Ai froze as she was taken into Shinn's warm embrace. Her eyes widened as she glanced to see the pain in his eyes from her dismay. She let go of her feelings as she fell into his embrace trying to forget about it. 'This feeling...' she thought to herself. 'I want it all to go away...'

"Why..?" she questioned softly to him. "Why can't it all just go away..? I don't want to hurt anymore..." she continued as she sunk deeper into his embrace. "I don't want to fight... Please don't let 'him' take me..." With those words Ai had worried and cried herself into a light slumber within his arms as her breathing began to even out.

Shinn looked at the sleeping girl in his arms and gave an inward sigh. 'Just who is she in all this?' Shinn wondered, trying to figure out the answer. 'If she knows pilots, then she surely must not be a normal kid that the Versalius just happened to pick up.' He gently laid Ai onto the bed, covering her with a blanket and tucking her in. He took one last glance to make sure she was alright and sat beside her on the bed, waiting for the Minerva to reach their current destination.

"Stella, Sting, Auel come here, I want to ask a mission of you." Azrael stated, walking into their quarters.

"Yes? What is it?" Stella questioned, confused as to why they had to do a mission even though there was no apparent reason for it.

"I want the three of you to go down to ORB and block off all of the civilian and military exits using the Strike Daggers. Each of you will be in charge of one exit and make sure that no one gets in or out." Azrael explained.

"Yes sir!" came the unanimous reply from the trio of pilots.

"Good, now go get suited." Azrael stated, leaving the room and heading back towards the bridge. Shani and Orga, who were in the adjacent room had overheard Azrael's plot, but decided that now was not the best time to act. Stella, Sting and Auel strode down the halls, Sting and Auel had smug expressions on their faces while Stella had a cold look as they were going to get suited and prepped for launch...

As the ship was finally making it's way to it's destination Ai lay there in her slumber. It was not a sound sleep, nor were any of the ones she had recently anything near pleasant. 'Have I forgotten everything..?' she thought to herself as she tried to delve into a deeper sleep. Opening her eyes she found that her exhaustion wasn't one of physical turmoil but that within herself. 'Have I even forgotten...' she thought as she turned her glance over to Shinn. 'Forgotten what it's like to dream..?' Her face was flushed as she was beginning to run another fever due to her fixation with inner turmoil but it wasn't as severe as the others. Nevertheless, if she didn't get the help she so desperately wished for her state would be without a doubt compromised.

"Shinn..."she questioned weakly. "Please say we're here..."

Azrael strode out of the Dominion and came face to face with Uzumi Nara Athha.

"Muruta Azrael, why is it that you are here?" Uzumi questioned, Cagalli by his side giving Azrael cold looks. "You know very well that ORB is a neutral nation and we choose to not get ourselves involved in this." Azrael wasn't about to take no for an answer.

"Yes, well, we just need repairs, nothing more nothing less, if you would just please offer your assistance..." Azrael requested, still trying to get his way.

"I'm afraid I must refuse you on this Muruta, I cannot allow you to make ORB part of this senseless war!" interjected Uzumi.

"You refuse us!" Azrael growled, his whole demeanor had suddenly changed to reveal his true intentions. "I don't think that's such a wise choice...refuse and ORB will be destroyed, civilians and all. We have all exits blocked, so don't even try me and if you'd like to start a battle then go right ahead, at the expense of the civilians in the area of course..." Azrael explained.

"You snake..." growled Uzumi, who was beyond enraged at the moment.

"We will not harm anyone as long as things go our way, let us repair the Dominion and give my men free range in this nation until the repairs are complete. Once you do that, it'll be like none of this ever happened..." Azrael remarked.

"Father..." Cagalli remarked, trying to get her father to change his mind.

"I'm sorry Cagalli, but I can't afford to risk any civilians in this issue that we are currently facing." Cagalli slowly nodded and left her father.

"I'm glad you saw this my way..." Azrael remarked before heading back into the ship.

Most of the soldiers had rushed out once they had heard the news. Shani and Orga stayed back a bit and walked back to Crot's room only to find the door unlocked.

"What the hell?" Orga remarked as the door slid open. Shani and Orga peered inside only to discover one thing...Crot wasn't there.

"Now where the hell did he go?" Shani grumbled, trying to think of where he could've gone.

"He must've snuck out, let's go find that stubborn dumbass..." Orga muttered, walking towards the ship's exit.

"The Versalius is attempting reentry along with the Minerva, we should be reaching the island of ORB soon enough." stated the operator through the intercom. Athrun had been staring outside of his window in his quarters all this time. 'Ai, don't worry, I'll be there soon...' Athrun thought in his mind.

The others were also busy worrying about Ai and wondering about why they had to go to ORB for some abrupt and apparent reason as the Versalius and Minerva slow descended into the earth's atmosphere.

"Commander?" questioned Lyai as the ship had come to a sudden halt near ORB. "Is there something the matter?" Ayusagi turned to face her, a grim expression on his face as he nodded in response.

"It seems there are others who seek to return as well." he said as he motioned for Lyai to take a closer look. Her eyes widened in disbelief as she saw the Dominion ease into the facilities.

"Why are they here!" she demanded to no one in particular. Ayusagi shook his head as he walked over to Lyai's side and put his hand on her shoulder.

"I do not quite understand the full reasons as to why all of this is happening but it seems whomever is trying to pull the strings behind this war wants us gone..." he replied a bit coldly. Lyai looked to him to see the anger in his eyes as she walked away from him.

"Please excuse me sir. I think there are other matters that must be attended to at the current moment." she said as she left the room.

"Yes... I have some matters of my own..."

Ai looked over to Shinn as she sat up in the bed trying to calm herself down. 'Athrun, Nicol, Yzak and Dearka... I hope I get to see them all soon...' she thought as their images flashed in her mind. A comment Shinn had made earlier had her questioning some things as she finally decided to come out and say it.

"Shinn..." she began as she looked over to him once more. "What's the Impulse?"

Crot was dashing through the facility not caring what kind of stares he got from the faculty. He just wanted to get away from anything that moved. He had snuck out during Azrael's discussion with Uzumi and was now trying to get as far away from the Dominion as possible and his Gundam. He had made it quite a ways through the complex and was out of breath. The state he was in wasn't maing it any better either.

"I...have to get away." Crot murmured. "I have to get away from the accursed Gundam!" The sudden sound of footsteps nearly caused him to jump as he resumed his running, not caring where he was going just as long as it was away...

The Versalius had reached ORB and had docked in the back facilities as to not be seen by others as the Minerva shortly followed. Everyone in the Versalius had already gathered around the Minerva, waiting for the other soldiers to disembark. Athrun, Nicol, Yzak and Dearka had made sure that they were in the front, each anxious to see if Ai really was on the Minerva while Miguel and Rusty stood in the back still trying to figure out what was going on.

Meanwhile, inside the Minerva, Shinn was trying to explain about Impulse.

"The Impulse is my Gundam, it was based off the Strike." Shinn explained. Thudding could be heard as all of the soldiers rushed out of the Minerva and onto the docking bay. "Come on, I think it's time we get out of this ship." Shinn commented, extending his hand to make sure that Ai didn't get separated in the stampeding herd of soldiers.

Shani and Orga were wandering around from one part of the facility to another trying to find a certain pilot.

"Where the hell is he?" Orga grumbled.

"I dunno, but keep looking, he's bound to be in here somewhere and who knows what the hell that dumbass would do in his condition." Shani replied.

"It's not like him to just run off..." Orga muttered, still trying to look for the other pilot.

"If you haven't noticed, he hasn't been himself ever since the battle..." Shani reminded, "Anyways, I highly doubt he'll be his 'normal' self if we find him anyways..."

**Author's Notes:** I feel so utterly horrible when I think about how much we completely neglected the crew of the Minerva. But when I think on the subject a second time I remember just exactly how long it would take us to cycle through the entire cast of BOTH series... Too long, basically... So it seems we focus in on the main pilots from Seed and well... not too many from Destiny to put it lightly! It seems they're all off to ORB again as well. ORB is a very easy enviornment for me to cope with; basically due to the fact that whenever we bring our characters there they can actually REST!


	38. Reentered Reunion

**Phase 38: Reentered Reunion**

Ai took Shinn's hand as she followed him out of the ship. As they both entered the facility her eyes widened in astonishment to the sight before her.

"A-... Athrun..?" she questioned as she slowly let go of Shinn's hand. "Athrun... Nicol, Yzak... Dearka..." she said softly, tears beginning to flow from her eyes. "Is it really you!" she asked as it felt as if everything that she had just experienced was a thing of fiction.

Running over to them, still consumed in tears, Ai grabbed hold of them in a fond embrace.

"Y-You're all here!" she stated happily. Another thing had caught her eye, though she disregarded it as her mind playing tricks on her. She had thought to have seen a certain ship land someone nearby but it didn't seem at all possible to her. So in her moment of happiness all she wished and would allow was to try to smile once more. But she could not deny a haunting feeling of hers, that something was about to happen...

Athrun nearly leapt for joy when he saw Ai being led by another ZAFT soldier.

"Ai! I'm so happy to see you!" Athrun exclaimed, grabbing her into an embrace as the others tried to get at Ai wanting to show their feelings as well. Shinn was almost trampled by the older pilots in the process.

"Wha?" Shinn remarked, feeling quite out of place as the squabble continued between the pilots. Miguel and Rusty stood to the side adorning the same expression as Shinn.

"Ai, we've missed you so much!" Nicol commented, a smile of pure relief and happiness flooded his features.

"We thought we were never gonna see you again!" remarked Yzak and Dearka in unison, both grabbing Ai and trying to hug her at the same time.

"Guys...calm down, you're starting to scare me..." Rusty commented, seeing the situation turning into a hug-fest. After several more moments of smothering and commenting, the pilots started to clam down. Miguel approached the giddy group, trying to get a word in.

"Athrun, when on earth are you gonna explain this to me?" Miguel questioned.

"Oh, right..." Athrun remarked as he began his long explanation.

Ai was fascinated with all that was going on but in truth she had become a bit bored with everything. That is until a certain someone wandering around nearby caught her eye. 'No... can't be...' she thought as she took another glance back. 'I-It is-!' she panicked as she left the group of ZAFT pilots and dashed after them.

"W-Wait!" she called out to him. "Please wait, come back!" she continued to yell. A familiar noise could be heard coming from behind her as she stopped dead in her tracks.

"Birdy!" called the machine happily as it flew over to her. Her eyes widened in disbelief to the machine's appearance. She held out her hand to as he hopped up to her shoulder. 'Kira..?' she thought but then shook the feeling as she continued after the person she was after.

"Please come back!" she huffed as she was beginning to run out of breath from trying to catch up with him. "Crot!"

"I would like it if you two remained in the vicinity for the time being. You can freely wander but there's not much else we can do. Understood?" asked Ayusagi to the two girls.

"Yes sir." responded Lyai as Meamie nearly gave a slight nod. "Come on Meamie, I'll stay with you." she said as she took Meamie's arm in hers so as not to let her waiver.

"Please watch out for one another." Ayusagi warned as he went back to tend to the Epsilon's needs.

"Lyai..." came Meamie's weakened voice. Lyai stopped as she gave Meamie some room and let go of her.

"Uh... Y-Yes?" she responded a bit surprised to hear her voice.

"I'd like to be alone..." she said softly as she turned her back to Lyai and went on in another direction. Lyai was about to follow after but shook the thought away as she knew how badly her friend must have been feeling.

"A-Alright then..." she stammered as she turned to go the other way with a shrug. "I guess it's time for me to wander as well..."

The ZAFT pilots took notice of Ai's actions as soon as she had begun to dash away and was trying to inform Athrun of that fact, but Athrun had gotten so caught up with Miguel that he had no clue of what was going on.

"A-Ai! Wait!" Yzak called, a bit confused at the situation he was put in as Nicol and Dearka tried to get Athrun's attention away from Miguel.

"Not now guys...can't you see that I'm trying to explain something?" Athrun grumbled, getting slightly annoyed by their antics. By this time, Ai had already disappeared down the halls.

Crot, who had still been running for all this time had paused for a second when he heard his name called. 'Wait...that voice...no! It can't be! I can't let her see me like this!' Crot thought, glancing around trying to find out where the voice had come from. He immediately began to quicken his pace when he heard approaching footsteps coming in his direction. He dashed this way and that, trying to find a way out of the maze of corridors, but ended up confusing only himself. He had run into a hall with no way out.

"Damn...dead end." he grumbled, and was about to go back the way he came until he heard the foot steps round the corner. 'Oh no...I can't get out...' Crot thought, trying to find an alternate way out, 'There's nothing! No way! Argh!' Not knowing what else to do, Crot slumped down against a wall in defeat and waited for his pursuer to find him. He huddled up and once again buried his head into his arms, trying to shut the world out.

Shani and Orga were just about ready to give up their little search until they heard footsteps going through the corridors.

"What the fuck is going on?" Shani questioned.

"I don't think that's people playing tag... I'm gonna go check it out, whatever it may be, it'll probably be better than what we're doing now." Orga remarked, running towards the sound.

"Damn...hey! Wait up! Don't you dare leave me back here!" Shani called, running after the blonde pilot.

Ai was running and running to try and find Crot, though by the looks of it she had long lost him. She was a about to turn the corner when all of the sudden she came into a quick collision.

"Ah-! Oh... ow..." she moaned as she tried to figure out what had just happened. Birdy had begun to make a loud ruccus of the whole situation as he fluttered circles around her. "Huh..? What is it..?" she asked the machine as it continued it's flying frenzy.

"Bridy, birdy!" it exclaimed cheerfully to her as it flew higher causing Ai to continue looking in it's direction. She looked up and just as her eyes made contact with the energetic bird they widened in astonishment to what she had run into.

"S-... Shani!" she gasped as she took a few steps back.

Lyai had been wandering around when she had finally come across something very interesting. Leaning over the railings she observed the whole situation as she watched the ZAFT pilots go from a healthy discussion to a freak panic. 'Wow... I haven't seen these guys in a while...' she thought with a smirk on her face. She stopped her on looking as she continued walking only to run into another familiar face. She held up her arm and waved over to him.

"Hey Kira!" she shouted to him as she stood there waiting for him to respond. "Long time no see!"

Meamie was continuing her long silent walk when she found a corner that was supposed to have an empty hallway. Taking in a deep and heavy sigh she closed her eyes and turned the corner but when she opened her eyes they widened in pure terror. There, standing hunched against the wall, was the one person she had no desire of ever seeing again. There now standing between her and her peace of mind was the one who took her happiness away.

"It's you..." she said as she turned her head away in pain. "You... You're the one..." she muttered under her breath as she clenched her fists tightly. Tears began to flow down her face as she tried hard to hold back the pain within her.

"You killed him!" she shouted desperately. "It was you... who took Kanta away..." she whispered softly as she looked at him squarely in the eyes.

Sinking down to the floor now consumed by tears she was desperately trying to hold back she looked up to him, a deep pain now in her eyes.

"Why!" she questioned him with her sorrowful look of pain. "Why...?"

Shani had been so focused on running that he didn't realize that he was about to run into someone and accidentally plowed into the person.

"Hey, what the..." Shani grumbled, trying to see who he had mistakenly run into until he heard familiar noise. "You _pest_! You're the last thing I needed to fucking see!" Shani growled and was about to shoot the mechanical bird down with his gun when he heard an oh so familiar voice. "A-Ai! Is that really you?" Shani questioned, suddenly feeling overwhelmed that the one person he thought he was never going to see again had come and ran smack dab into him.

"Ai! I can't believe it!" Orga exclaimed, rubbing his eyes, trying to see if it was just a hallucination. They had stopped dead in their tracks, not wanting to go after Crot just yet now that they had found the one person that made all the difference in the world to them.

"Why didn't you tell me that she ran off!" Athrun demanded, having finished his conversation with Miguel.

"It wasn't our fault! We were the ones dancing up and down trying to get your attention!" Dearka retorted. Nicol also gave Athrun a slightly disappointed stare.

"Why don't you people get your heads out of your butts and let's go find her!" Yzak remarked, giving everyone a determined glare. The arguing suddenly stopped as the ZAFT pilots all nodded and ran off in the direction that Ai was last seen running in. Shinn, Rusty and Miguel were once again left in the dust.

"I'm not gonna be left here, I'm going with them!" Shinn remarked, dashing off after the others. Rusty gave Miguel an insistent stare.

"Oh alright, I can't spoil your fun all the time..." Miguel stated. They both started running, trying to catch up with the others.

Crot flinched when he heard those words. It wasn't quite the person he needed to see at the moment and now he was wishing that it had been Ai that had rounded the corner.

"M-Meamie!" Crot yelped, once again staring to tremble. Once again, things weren't going his way. "I-I didn't...I-I just..." Crot stuttered, trying to get the words out, but found that nothing he was doing was working. Crot began glancing around trying to find a way out. He just didn't want to deal with Meamie just yet...

Ai was overjoyed, nearly to tears, to see them. Everything was coming back together for her, little by little...

"Shani..." she said softly as she could no longer hold back the tears. "I-... I'm sorry!" she shouted as she turned away from him. "It's because of me that all of this happened..." she stated as the tears finally gave way. "It's because of me... it's because of me that it happened..."

**Author's Notes:** Well, well... What a strange twist of events huh? Ai reunited with Shani! (Haha! I got you there didn't I..? No? Fine...) No... The real twist of events will unfold in the next phase. Meamie's confrontation with her lovers killer has just begun...


	39. Feelings They Shared

**Phase 39: Feelings They Shared **

Meamie slowly got up off the floor and walked over to Crot. She could sense his utter failure to bring into works his feelings. It hurt her deeply to see him like that. He was broken, but it hurt her just as much to think that he could have done such a horrible thing. That he had killed Kanta.

"Crot... Crot I-..." without warning her emotions took control as she held Crot in an embrace. She leaned her head against her chest as she wept for everything. 'It wasn't his fault...' she thought desperately in her mind. 'That's what you wanted to tell me... isn't it..?' She continued to hold him close to her as everything began to sink in to her thoughts. The feelings beginning to overwhelm her heart and soul...

Shani and Orga noticed Ai begin to weep. At first, they couldn't figure out what was wrong until they began to piece the facts together. The ship that Ai had been on must've been nearby when 'it' had happened.

"Ai...it's not your fault." Shani whispered, gently turning her around and pulling her into an embrace.

"You're not to blame for any of this..." Orga added, laying his hand on Ai's shoulder.

"Please don't cry...it hurts me just as much to see you like this." Shani murmured, trying to wipe away her tears away as best he could.

Kira turned around to see Lyai walking towards him.

"Hey Lyai! I haven't seen you in quite the while!" Kira exclaimed. "What have you guys been up to recently? I was just looking for Birdy...he seems to have flown off again." Kira gave Lyai a smile, "Hey, wanna go down there and say hi to the others?" Kira questioned, gesturing towards the ZAFT pilots.

Crot tensed up as Meamie embraced him. 'Why? Why is she doing this?' Crot questioned to himself as the things seemed to get more complicated.

"M-Meamie...I-I don't deserve any of this..." Crot muttered. "H-How could you actually touch me after what I've done to you!" He began to feel sick again trying to piece everything together. "M-Meamie, why are you doing this?" Crot asked, looking at her with his clouded eyes, trying to comprehend how she could even feel any sort of compassion towards a killer...

Ai was shocked to be pulled into an embrace so suddenly by him. It was such an feeling to her now, like it had all happened so long ago. Holding onto him tighter she gave in to his wishes as she stopped her apologizing. All she wanted now was to keep that warm feeling and to never let it go.

"I don't want to go again..." she whispered to him. "I don't want anyone to go away..."

Lyai nodded to Kira as she took hold of his arm and basically dragged him back to the others with her. When they arrived it was only to find that they had all run off in another direction.

"Wow, they sure did clear out fast..." she commented as she could have sworn they were momentarily in the vicinity. She turned back around to face Kira with a friendly smile as she let go of him. "So... What have you been up to lately?" she questioned trying to start up a conversation.

That is, until she saw a glimpse of the others through the corner of her eye. A smug looked appeared on her face.

"Come on Kira, let's go I think I see them!" she shouted as she grabbed hold of the Coordinator once more and dragged him behind her.

Meamie was at a loss for words at what to say. She didn't know what exactly she was doing herself but somehow it felt so right. 'I-... I don't know why...' she thought to herself as he pushed away from her a bit.

"I don't know why!" she said to him as tears kept running down her face. "I don't know why... that's why I-..." Bringing herself closer to Crot her face soon met his as what was thought as the unthinkable happened, moving her lips close to his own...

Shani held Ai, remembering all of the memories they had shared and all the events they had pulled through.

"Ai...I never want to let you go..." Shani muttered, still keeping their embrace. Shani just wanted this moment to last and keep going...Orga removed his hand from her shoulder and stood to the side, letting the two take their time.

Kira couldn't even respond before he was dragged off by Lyai.

"L-Lyai? What's with the rush?" Kira questioned, failing to see the smug look on her face. The commotion that Kira had caused had gotten the attention of the ZAFT pilots.

"Kira? Lyai!" Athrun remarked. Walking over he thought to himself. 'Things seem to get weirder and weirder as we go...' The group decided to move themselves over towards Kira and Lyai. There was a brief moment of silence as the ZAFT pilots gave each other nervous glances. It was Nicol who then decided to break the silence.

"Lyai...we're sorry about what happened back there." Nicol commented, hoping nothing bad was gonna happen to him for ushering those words.

Crot couldn't believe what was happening; but before he knew what he was doing, he was moving his face closer to hers. He gently pushed his lips against hers as he pulled her into a passionate kiss. It was as if nothing mattered, it was just them in their own little universe. Crot closed his eyes and let the moment sink in. It wasn't until they had to pull away for air that Crot finally reopened his eyes and stared into Meamie's. He didn't know what to expect next as he waited for a reaction...

"Shani..." Ai whispered softly. "He's here too, right..?" she asked.

She had sworn she had seen Crot earlier running frantically away from everything that moved. It had upset her deeply to see her friend in such great pain now. After all they had been through that one moment had changed everything. 'It was like they were different people...' she thought to herself. 'They all... They all fought so heartlessly...' Tears began to stream down her face as she started to come to the realization of their actions.

"Why did you all-!..." she stopped to take a breath for her head was nearly spinning by the sudden change of her thoughts. "Why did you all fight like that!" she questioned desperately as she looked up at Shani. "Why..?"

Lyai's expression and tone became more serious at the sound of those words. 'Sorry...' she thought to herself. 'Sorry won't bring him back...' Turning her head away from the others a look of pain took her once happy face.

"He didn't deserve it..." she said a bit coldly. "None of them deserved any of it... but I suppose that's why we fight a war..."

Her words were harsh but true to the ears of anyone who was or had fought.

"This war has gone to a new level and it's only going to get worse... Whatever it is they were fighting for now, it's all been abandoned for the supremacy of either side."

The moment had aroused many strange feelings from within her. Meamie had no idea what to think anymore. Yes, she had indeed loved Kanta but she knew he was never coming back; but it seemed that somehow Kanta's message to her shone through. 'Kanta loved me...' she thought to herself. 'But it wasn't a kind of love that tenderness could bring... It was a love for me and my life... It was a love that told me to keep living...'

"Crot...I-... I'm sorry that it happened." she said softly as she tried to regain a more respectable perspective from him. "Kanta... I may have said I loved him and I said it over and over in my mind but I finally realized that I never loved him in the ways I thought I did... but he loved me in that way... In the love that he wanted me to be happy..." she stopped as she tried her best to hold back the tears as she saw the faint last image of him appear in her mind. "That's why... That's why I-..." her words were now too struggled as the message was impossible for her to come out with...

Shani felt as if he had lost all of the feeling in his body when he heard Ai's sudden change in emotion.

"He's here...somewhere." Shani murmured, tilting his head away from Ai.

"We only fought because we had no choice..." Orga muttered, reaching into his pocket and grabbing out a glass vial which still had some contents in it.

"Ai, we were just out of control, like hideous monsters who were out for blood...and we're sorry." Shani stated, still choosing not to look Ai in the face.

"We don't know how we could've let this happen...now Kanta's dead and there's nothing we can do about it..." Orga added, also looking away from the youth in shame.

Kira was confused by the sudden change in atmosphere for he had not witnessed the gruesome battle play out. Athrun walked over and whispered in Kira's ear and received a very distressed look from Kira. All of the ZAFT pilots looked down for the truth was a bit hard to take.

"Lyai, we all know that what you said is true, but sometimes, just sometimes, there are exceptions to that..." Athrun murmured, walking off with the other ZAFT pilots trailing behind him. Kira remained behind and gave Lyai a sympathetic look as silence once again engulfed the area.

"I know..." Crot murmured, not letting go of the embrace. He wanted this feeling to last, especially after all of the hurt he had been feeling lately.

Meamie had helped him to push all of those cold feelings aside, it was as if she was dragging him out of a twisted nightmare in which he thought he would've never woken up from.

"Meamie...I love you..." Crot whispered, getting lost in the moment.

"Stop it both of you!" she shouted as she moved away from Shani's grasp. The words they had spoken were all too familiar for the child's ears...

_  
"Why are you with them?"  
"Listen Ai, I know you want peace, but those three are labeled as an extreme threat to us! They're dangerous!"  
"Ai, get away from them! I don't want you getting hurt!"  
_

"W-... Why..?" she muttered as she slowly looked back up at the two. "Why is it that we fight this war!" she shouted out in desperation. Her tears had begun once more but this time she wasn't going to wait for an answer. At a complete loss for what to do Ai turned and ran away from the group as she searched for some way to escape it all. 'I'm done... I don't want to be like this anymore... I don't want to cause this fighting!' she thought as she continued to run as far and as fast as she could, not caring who dared to follow her.

Lyai turned to face Kira as she struggle to show that she cared for his compassion.

"Thanks... but I think you should go see to it that your friends don't do anything reckless." she remarked as she continued on her way, though she stopped suddenly as Ai passed by her running in tears. 'What in the..!' she thought as she watched her dash away. "Was that... Ai..?" she questioned.

At the sound of those few tender words Meamie sunk into the current moment. Nothing else mattered to her now. The warmth she had been searching so desperately for was finally here, but she begged not to think at what cost. She knew, however, that this moment was not meant to last for nearby she could hear the arguing of many familiar voices.

"Crot..." she whispered to him. "We should fix things now, before it's too late..." she said daring not to think what the next battle could turn out to be like. "Your friends need you right now, too..."

"A-Ai..." Shani stammered, bearing a hurt expression on his face.

"What have I done?" Athrun whispered, slightly stepping back.

"We drove her away..." Orga murmured.

"I'm going after her, and I don't care what any of you have to say about it!" Shani retorted, running off after Ai. Orga gave the ZAFT pilots one last look before running off as well.

"Athrun...why did you do that?" Yzak softly muttered.

"I-I let my duties get in the way of my emotions again..." Athrun murmured, trying to hide his shameful eyes from the others.

"Maybe it's best if we just let her go for awhile...I don't think she wants to see us right now." Dearka whispered, leading Athrun, who seems to be lost in his thoughts once more, away from the area along with Yzak. Nicol looked towards the direction in which Ai had run off towards and couldn't help but feel an overwhelming feeling of sorrow for the child as he walked off.

"Ai?" Kira murmured, thinking that he had just imagined the whole thing. "What in the..." Kira turned to Lyai. "I think I'm gonna go and check on them...I have a bad feeling about this..." Kira gave Lyai a faint smile and ran off.

Crot wanted to detest her statement, he wanted it to stay this way, but when he heard Shani and Orga's arguing voices he knew what she had said was as true as ever.

"Meamie...I'll see you again... I don't know where, or even when, but I _will_ see you again..." Crot whispered finally easing out of the embrace and dashed off towards the direction in which he had heard the arguing voices.

"Ai! Ai! Where are you!" Shani hollered, running up and down the halls. Orga had been questioning everyone he had run into. All he managed to get were shrugs of confusion. "Ai! Come back! Please!" Shani pleaded, trying to get some kind of response from the missing youth. "I didn't mean to drive you away..."

**Author's Notes:** Okay... That may have gotten a bit confusing for some of you and for that I sincerely apologize. Basically you have to take into account that with both of us posting back and forth the pattern went something like... 123, 123; instead of 11, 22, 33... Which it should be, or should be looked upon as. If I had edited them together than some of the events that happened would seem out of place and so on... So, once again, I apologize...

Moving on... The scene with Meamie and Crot really did change drastically, almost too drastic... I really was having second thoughts about keeping that part but since there hasn't been all too much love for those three here I thought I'd just keep it. Really the scene would have never happened in the first place had it not been for me pushing it on Tanya like that and leaving Meamie in that position in front of Crot. I guess in the end it paid off since it's one of the best scenes in the story! Oh well, til' next time people!


	40. Fighting Back

**Phase 40: Fighting Back**

'I want to disappear...' she thought as she stopped herself from running and slumped down to the floor and leaned against the wall. She wrapped her arms around her legs and sunk her head between them, trying to hold back her tears.

"I cause everyone nothing but trouble..." she whispered to herself as she ignored everything occurring around her. "I just want to disappear!"

"_Then disappear..."_

Ai stopped her muttering as she heard the voice. Lifting her head up she looked everywhere for the source of the voice only to find nothing.

"_But if you disappear then what you've been fighting for will as well..."_

'That voice...' she thought to herself as the feeling sunk in. 'It can't be.. can it..?' Just then Ai heard the desperate cries from her friends searching for her. Shaking her head in dismay, she slowly got back up to her feet but hesitated when she wanted to answer to them.

"I'll just be causing more trouble..."

"Hmph... Seems it's about time for us to disappear again." muttered Lyai as she began to walk away from the scene. 'Maybe... just maybe we still have a chance of winning this.' she thought as she took one last glance back at Kira. Shrugging Lyai began to make her way back to the Epsilon, but not before going back to find a certain someone. "You ready to go back now..?" she questioned.

"Yes... I am." responded Meamie as she walked out of the hall and over to Lyai's side. "I'm sorry..."

"Don't apologize. Anyway... If anyone has to apologize it should be me right now, okay?" she reasoned as she nudged Meamie's shoulder and put on a friendly smile. Meamie smiled back to her as the two continued on their way back to the ship.

Dearka, Yzak and Nicol were currently trying to get Athrun to pull himself together until a ZAFT soldier ran up to them informing them that the Versalius was about to depart from ORB.

"Why so soon?" Yzak questioned.

"We have received orders from Creuset that we will be leaving shortly and you are to return to the Versalius at once." stated the soldier.

"Alright..." Dearka replied, giving the soldier a look that told him to leave.

"Let's take care of this on the ship okay?" Nicol remarked. Athrun slightly nodded and began trudging towards the Versalius.

Shani and Orga gad been looking in every place they thought possible.

"Where could she have gone?" Shani mumbled. Suddenly, a rumbled could be heard coming from the distance.

"What was that?" Orga questioned. He saw several Blue Cosmos soldiers running by and managed to grab one of them. "What's going on!" Orga demanded.

"It's sabotage! The Dominion's repaired and we're gonna trash the place!" exclaimed the soldier.

"Azrael...that bastard." Shani growled.

"Come on!" Orga shouted. "Maybe we can do something!" Shani nodded and quickly followed the other pilot just as the alarms went off.

Kira stopped dead in his tracks as the alarms went off.

"Why? Why here?" Kira questioned. "I have to protect the civilians!" He ran off, trying to get around the other soldiers and mechanics trying to reach the Freedom in time to help stop the attacks.

Crot had been running up until the alarms had activated.

"What the hell?" he grumbled as he felt the shockwaves and the rumbling. He then remembered the speech that Azrael had with Uzumi and realized his sick plot. "He was never gonna spare the civilians..." Crot mumbled. Suddenly, a flapping green blur flew past Crot.

"Hey..." Crot muttered, recognizing the small mechanical bird that had caused them so much troubled in the past. He instinctively ran after the bird, trying to see where it was going. "Slow down a bit why don't you?" Crot remarked, still trying to keep up with the bird. He noticed it's pace starting to slow down as it rounded a corner. Crot couldn't believe what he was seeing. Standing right in front of him was Ai, seeming lost in her thought.

"Ai, what's wrong?" Crot whispered, seeing the child that disturbed bout something told him that something just wasn't right. "Ai, please, come with me, you can't stay here much longer, I don't think anyone can!" Crot pleaded, extending his hand, trying to get the child to listen to him. Ai snapped out of her thoughts as she saw Crot. She wanted to say something to him but at the current turn of events she nodded and took hold of his hand as the two began to rush through the sea of people.

As they were making their way through Ai lost hold of Crot's hand and was pushed aside into a corner by the other soldiers.

"Ah-! Cr-Crot!" she called out to him but by the time the area partly cleared she was already lost from him. 'What do I do now..?' she thought to herself. Just then something caught her eye as Birdy flew past her and led her into a closed off part of the hangar.

"Bridy, birdy!" exclaimed the mechanical pet as it soared up higher. Ai continued to follow as she picked up her pace and climbed up to reach it's level. She stopped dead in her tracks as the lights in the area turned on to reveal what it was the bird was trying to show her. A huge hulking mobile suit now stood before her as the bird fluttered back over to her shoulder.

"C-... Cerberus..?" she questioned in astonishment.

"Ai!" Crot hollered as he lost her to the scrambling crowd of soldiers. He struggled to reacher her, but his attempt was foiled by several soldiers grabbing him.

"You're not going anywhere but Raider's cockpit you hear!" remarked one of the soldiers.

"Damn you! Let me go!" Crot growled.

"No deal, Azrael wants you." stated another soldier. "I'm guessing it's from what you did last time, now let's go!" Crot tried to get out of their grasps but the numbers he was up against was way too much as the soldiers dragged him towards the Dominion.

Shinn, Rusty and Miguel had been hanging out around the new model Cerberus when they heard Ai come in.

"Ai!" Shinn exclaimed.

"I suppose you're this unit's pilot?" Rusty questioned.

"If so, then you'd better get going..." Miguel added. "I know it's not for the best, but we can't defy _his_ orders..."

"Come on, we gotta get going as well." Shinn commented. "I'm gonna go get Impulse ready."

"Yeah, let's go Rusty, those GINNs aren't gonna wait forever..." Miguel muttered, not seeming enthusiastic about the coming battle. "Good luck Ai, someone as young as you...well, you _need_ to survive..." With that, the ZAFT soldiers parted ways as they ran to get suited up.

Shani and Orga had already gotten suited and were about to launch when they saw Crot getting dragged by the soldiers.

"Crot?" Shani asked, a little shocked on how his personality had managed to come back, for the last time he had gotten a look at him, he was sullen and now aggressive as ever. Azrael walked up to Shani and Orga, a sadistic smile once again adorned his face.

"You...how could you do this!" Orga demanded.

"Well, simple, I commanded it to happen, now go assist the Gaia, Chaos and Abyss." Azrael stated. His comment earning him glares from the two enraged pilots. They walked off towards their Gundams. 'Ai...I hope you're okay...' Shani thought, climbing into Forbidden's cockpit.

"Why won't the fighting stop? The deceptions, the lies...why?" Kira mumbled.

"Freedom, you are clear for launch!" the operator called. Kira nodded, cutting off the video link. The signals flashed as Freedom was catapulted from the Archangel.

"Well so much for me keeping a low profile..." she said to herself as she walked over to the Gundam and placed her hand atop it's surface. "Time for us to get going!" she said cheerfully as the cockpit opened up. She entered and prepared to launch herself, but was a bit hesitant on the thought. Then she remembered all of the people who were fighting by her side. 'I won't let any of you down... and I won't let anyone die!'

"Cerberus is ready for launch!" came the operator as Ai shot onto the battlefield. She looked around to see that everyone else had launched onto the battlefield already. Then something crossed her mind that sent a cold chill down her spine...

'I don't know how to pilot this!' Ai was currently a sitting duck on the battlefield.

"Darn it what imbeciles!" she shouted to herself not realizing that her com system was already functional. "I can't believe they expect me to pilot this thing without a moments hesitation!" The battle progressed as the rest of the units were launched.

"Creuset, sir, what's our target?" Miguel questioned, still a bit confused on what they were fighting for.

"Hit and destroy anything that doesn't belong to our fleet!" Creuset commanded.

"Yes sir..." Miguel stated zooming off towards the nearest Strike Dagger who happened to be demolishing the city. A broadcast came over the all of the communications systems that caused a slight pause in the battle.

"This is Uzumi Nara Athha. The actions of Blue Cosmos cannot be forgiven, we cannot allow this to go on much longer, we will now be launching our fleet of M1 Astrays to counter this malicious attack." came the announcement.

"This is becoming an all out battle..." Nicol murmured, noting that all sides had deployed their units. Forbidden and Calamity were in formation, but were choosing not to attack anything at the moment, until a barrage of fire started coming from out of nowhere.

"Damned Astrays! What the hell were we doing!" Orga remarked. "Bastards..." Shani muttered. They then spotted Gaia, Chaos and Abyss.

"Look who decided to show up!" Sting sneered.

"Where the fuck were you!" Auel taunted. "Too afraid to enter the battlefield!"

Stella remained silent but kept attacking.

"Screw you!" Orga retorted.

Meanwhile, Crot was standing in front of his Gundam, reluctant to make any move towards the cockpit. 'What if...I lose control all over again?' Crot thought. The shockwaves increased and the tremors were starting to increase in force. Crot looked disdainfully at the cockpit, but decided that he'd have to do it sometime eventually and climbed into the cockpit. Raider was swiftly launched as it joined the others on the battlefield.

"This is Shinn, heading out..." Shinn stated.

"We've launched both sections of the Impulse." stated the Minerva's operator.

"Got it!" Shinn replied, connecting the two part to form the Impulse Gundam. But before Shinn could act, a blast from the chaos hit him.

"What do we have here?" Sting commented, targeting all of his weapons on Impulse. Shinn barely made it out of the way as all of the shells grazed past his Gundam. Athrun and the other continued to destroy the Daggers.

"It's as if they're trying to totally demolish ORB..." Dearka murmured, shooting down some more Daggers.

"I'm afraid I can't let you guys do that..." Auel commented, firing several shots at Buster and managed to have them hit.

"Argh..." Dearka groaned. "That's it, I've had enough of you, damned arrogant bastard!" Dearka made the Buster connected it's cannons and fired a huge blast of energy towards the Abyss and knocked it out of the air ad sent it crashing to the ground.

"Dammit!" Auel growled. "You damned coordinator!"

Meanwhile the Gaia had gotten view of a new unit on the field that didn't seem to be doing much.

"Easy target..." Stella murmured, shifting Gaia to it's mobile armor form. "I'm gonna get rid of you...before you start causing us problems." Everyone was low on energy as the battle was unrelenting. Damages could be clearly seen on every unit that had participated, but neither side wanted to back down. Stella found her chance and began to charge towards the unit. Athrun, who had been fighting off hordes of Daggers had noticed the unit charge towards Ai.

"No! I can't let this happen!" Athrun exclaimed, trying to head off the charging Gundam. He would've achieved this if it weren't for the Daggers that kicked the Justice down and pinned him there. "NO! Ai! Watch out!" Athrun hollered through the com. system. Shani turned around upon hearing the transmission. He saw a newer version of Cerberus about to become a piece of scrap at the hands of Gaia.

**Author's Notes:** This one took me forever to name... Did I ever mention that I had to think up the names for all of these phases..? No, well now you know... But yeah, the Cerberus is still alive! Okay, not really it was just reconstructed using some newer technology and stuff. Though, I have yet to decide on what that technology is... I guess it must be pretty new since poor Ai has no clue how to work with her controls; proving she's no Coordinator! Or at least she panics before she acts... Either way it doesn't look good for the girl.


	41. Forbidden's Gamble

**Episode 41: Forbidden's Gamble**

Upon instinct, the Forbidden rushed towards Cerberus and flung itself out in front of the unguarded Gundam. The Gaia, blades extended, collided against the Forbidden. Shani, who didn't have time to think of a counter measure against the attack, took the full force of the blow.

"Shani! What the fuck were you thinking!" Orga commented, but then silenced himself when he saw what the other pilot was trying to defend.

"Shani..." Crot murmured, upon seeing how badly damaged the other unit was.

"A-Ai...I finally found you again..." Shani whispered through the com. system which was spewing sparks. "I-I was afraid that I had lost you..." He had a relieved look on his face which was partially obscured in blood and the cracked glass on the helmet.

"Shani..." Athrun murmured. "I was wrong about you..." Kira watched the scene in horror as he stopped retaliating against the GINNs.

"How could this have happened?" he whispered. Everything seemed to have turned for the worst as the Forbidden laid in the patch of debris... Everything Ai had ever thought of, every second she had spent with them. All of the memories spiraled on in her mind as nothing made sense to her now.

"Sh-... Shani..?" Ai questioned, not believing anything that had just happened as she sit helplessly in the cockpit. "Shani, Shani! Shani please don't do this!" she shouted out to him in desperation. "Shani..." She shed tears at that moment that she had never wished to as she struggled to get her bearings back. At that moment everything in her mind was erased, all of the fears and the pain, as she had one goal set in her mind.

'_Protect'_

"You..." she muttered as her eyes shifted some. "I won't let this fighting continue any longer!" At that moment Cerberus' systems became operational, as she readied for battle. Manuevering herself from behind the Forbidden she pounced atop the Gaia and knocked it aside and far away from the damaged Gundam. The beast let out a deep roar as Ai activated a new system within her Gundam; the H.E.L.L. Driver Unit. The H.E.L.L. Driver Unit worked in part with the Cerberus' blades as she extended the deadly weapons, only this time they had an added shock. She readied the 13 blades for battle as she awaited anything that dared get in the way of her friends, or the civilians. She spotted the other two units from Blue Comos who were causing trouble and targeted them first.

"You two... I'll take you both down where you stand!" she shouted as she rushed them using her famed spiraled flame technique, but this time after her struck their systems were frozen on the spot. Ai activated a link with the remaining units as she began her plan to end this current massacre. "This is Aiorem Heiwa, pilot of the Cerberus. I order all units from whichever side you may be to cease your attack at once! Any who do not heed my warning will be shot down by my hand!" she commanded as she awaited the results of her strange threat. The battle slowed down to a halt as Ai finished her attack. Most of the Strike Daggers had stopped their destruction spree for fear of the Gundam's massive power. Even some of the GINNs slowed down their activities after seeing the fiery display of blades total the Abyss and the Chaos.

All of the units had landed and their pilots had opened their cockpits to show that they wanted no more to do with this battle, while the Calamity and Raider were trying to tend to the fallen Forbidden. Rusty and Miguel slowly climbed out of their GINNs as they stared at Ai's machine with newfound respect. Shinn couldn't take his eyes off of Cerberus, trying to comprehend what had just happened. The only people who didn't come out of their cockpits were Stella, Sting and Auel. They were still grumbling about the damages done to their units and refused to come out. The Blitz, Duel and Buster ushered all of the Daggers away from the Justice and helped Athrun out of the cockpit where they stood in a little group waiting for what was to happen next.

Meanwhile, two separate ships had witnessed the attack.

"Did you see that!" Azrael demanded.

"Y-Yes sir..." stammered one of the operators.

"We _need_ her...I must have that girl and her unit!" Azrael exclaimed. "We have a new objective and that's to gain control of the girl..."

Creuset watched the whole scene with satisfaction from a window on the Versalius.

"Wonderful...she couldn't have done any better!" Creuset remarked, staring at the unit with an interested look. "She and that unit need to be further tested... I want to draw out her full potential..." Creuset murmured to himself, planting a smirk on his face just thinking about how he was to attempt his new ploy...

Ai took a deep breath as she tried to regain her composure and eased Cerberus back down to the ground where the other Gundams now stood. 'What just happened..?' she thought to herself as she looked on her monitors to see all of the Gundams and most of the pilots around her. She decided to follow their lead as she tended to deactivating several of her systems so as not to cause any trouble. After some meddling around with the controls she finally stepped out of the cockpit. However once she stepped out she began to dash desperately toward the Forbidden and the others gathered around the unit.

"Shani! Shani!" she shouted out as she made her way over to the cockpit. "Shani..." She tried to see if the cockpit would open only to find it sealed from the previous direct hit. 'What can I do..?' she thought as she looked around every which way trying to find something or someone to help her. 'Ah! That's it!' She took the cylinder from her pocket and extended it. Wedging it in she began to pry open the cockpit as she tried with all her strength for it to separate. 'Come on, come on!' she chanted in her mind as she kept going, not letting up until she was sure it would open. It was then that she heard her pole break through as the cockpit slowly began to open up, revealing the injured pilot. With tears once again in her eyes Ai dropped the tool back into her pocket as she went into the cockpit and held on to him.

"Shani! Shani please don't go..." she said softly to him as she backed away somewhat so as to let the others through. Orga and Crot left Calamity and Raider's cockpits and pushed past the growing number of people surrounding the Forbidden. It was almost painful to see how badly mangled Shani was.

"Damn..." Orga murmured, easing his way partially into the cockpit to check on the injured pilot. Orga gently grabbed a hold of the pilot's hand and attempted to check for a pulse. "He's still alive, but barely..." Orga stated. "We need to get help now if you want him to stay alive..." Footsteps could be heard as Athrun, Nicol, Yzak and Dearka approached the damaged Gundam. Athrun had a regretful look on his face.

"I'll go inform the Dominion's medical crew and tell them to get ready..." Crot whispered, walking back towards Raider. A light gust of wind swept through the area as the black Gundam sped back towards the legged ship.

"Ai...all we can do right now is hope that he can pull through..." Orga stated. It was then that Kira had arrived on the scene. The expression that Freedom's pilot wore on his face was more than enough to say what he was thinking of the current situation. Shinn, Rusty and Miguel also managed to make their way to the location. A transmission sent to Calamity's cockpit broke the silence as the message was sent.

"Orga, the Dominion's making it's way there, it won't be much longer." Crot stated as the transmission ended.

"We'd better get out of here, I don't want to cause any trouble once the Dominion arrives..." Miguel stated. The other ZAFT pilots gave slight nods before leaving the area. Kira lagged behind a bit, but decided it to be for the best if he headed back to the Archangel.

"Ai...aren't you going to go back with ZAFT?" Orga questioned. The Dominion had already docked close by and their medical team had rushed out and were already trying to tend to Shani's injuries.

"He was severely damaged in the battle...we have to deal with this inside the ship, where we have all of the equipment stored." stated one of the workers.

"Then let's get him back there and I don't want to see any delays dammit!" Orga growled, getting annoyed by the lackadaisical workers. 'I can't believe that this is supposed to be our best...' Orga thought, watching them scramble to get everything done. He turned towards Ai. "It's not too late to go back to the Versalius..." Orga muttered. "If you want to that is..." Ai was torn between her decisions at the moment. To go back with ZAFT or to go on with the Earth Alliance. No matter which way she went she knew she'd be by her friends' side, but at what costs she often wondered. Taking Orga's hand she looked up at him.

"No... This time I'm staying with you." she said as she looked deeply into his eyes. "I don't care if everyone's after me..." she muttered as she took as glance back toward the Cerberus and watched as the other Gundams made their way back to their respective ships. "A cease fire can only last so long..." she added as she looked back over to Shani. "Orga, he's going to be okay, isn't he..?" she asked innocently to him, trying to hold back her tears once more. "H-... He just has to..!" Orga's look softened after hearing Ai's question.

"Ai...I don't truly know and I don't want to say something that might become a lie to you later on." Orga explained. "It's hard to tell right now... we'll just have to wait and see." Orga took another glance at the medics and decided to return to the ship with them, leading Ai along with him.

Back on the Dominion, they were greeted by Crot, who had a grave expression on his face as he led them to sick bay where they were currently tending to Shani. One of the medical workers walked up to them and began to explain Shani's current condition.

"This is a very severe trauma...I'm afraid he's slipped into a coma...We have no clue when he'll wake up...or even _if_ he'll wake up from this, that is all I can leave you with right now..." stated the doctor, walking back to check on how the other nurses were doing.

Athrun, Nicol, Yzak, Dearka, Miguel and Rusty had finally returned to the Versalius as they all docked their units in the hangar. As they got out of their cockpits, they were greeted with a very unpleasant surprise...

"Why didn't you take the girl with you!" demanded a voice.

"Oh, Commander Creuset, sir, it wasn't the appropriate time to take her back..." Miguel reasoned, trying to get the enraged commander off their backs.

"Miguel! I don't want any excuses from you!" Creuset sneered. He then turned to face the other pilots. "I'm supposing that none of you did anything at all to get the girl back!" he interrogated.

"No sir..." muttered the rest of the ZAFT pilots who were either looking away or had their heads tilted down.

"Inform the Minerva that were leaving! I will get that girl..." Creuset growled leaving the hangar in a huff.

Kira had just returned to the Archangel.

"Ensign Yamato...what happened out there?" questioned Murrue, noticing Kira's sullen look.

"It was just something that happened on the battlefield..." Kira muttered, walking off with Birdy flapping after him.

'Coma..?' she thought as she tried to piece the situation together. 'No... I can't let this happen... I won't!' Ai thought as she rushed over to his bedside, knocking a few of the workers from her path.

"H-Hey! What do you think you're doing!" demanded one of the medics as he approached Ai.

"Get out..." she said coldly as she had her head tilted away from the growing number of workers.

"What did you say, brat!" questioned one of the workers who had become fed up with Ai's attitude.

"I said..." she began as she took Shani's handgun and pointed it at the nearest worker. "Get out...!" she muttered as she readied to pull the trigger. It didn't take long for the medical staff to get the message as they all cleared out of the room with great haste. Ai gave a deep sigh as she put the gun down. 'Don't they know when the safety's on?' she thought to herself as she got up from her position and looked over at Shani's face. Holding his hand in hers she tried to hold back her tears as she also tried to evaluate his current state. 'I can still help him...' she thought as she turned to see all of the equipment in the room. 'I have to...'

"Crot, Orga, how much longer is that drug of yours going to last..?" she questioned trying to piece together how long all of her experimenting would take. "If I'm going to make something to counter it I'm afraid it won't be ready for quite some time..."

Orga's eyes widened in slight surprise at Ai's quick actions, while Crot was snickering due to how fast the medics had scrambled out the door.

"We may not be exactly sure, but I'd say we have another hour..." Orga stated.

"Since you 'took care' of those annoying medics, you have all this equipment to yourself!" Crot exclaimed, locking the door as to make sure that none of the medics would try to worm their way back in.

"If you need any help, don't hesitate to ask." Orga remarked before pulling up a chair and grabbing one of his books.

"Same here." Crot added, getting lost in playing his handheld.

Meanwhile, Stella, Auel and Sting had managed to get their units to the Dominion and had just arrived on the bridge due to Azrael's request.

"I want you to escort the girl away from those three, I don't want her close to them...they are currently in sick bay." Azrael instructed.

"Why sir?" Auel questioned, wondering what the big deal was.

"Don't question me!" Azrael retorted. "Now go!" Stella, Sting and Auel left the bridge in a hurry.

"I think you pissed him off!" Sting chuckled.

"Whatever, he just blew a fuse!" Auel joked.

"Stop fooling around you two..." Stella stated. 'Those two...ugh, they act like children sometimes...' she thought, walking towards sick bay with Sting and Auel lagging behind.

"What was Creuset's problem?" Rusty grumbled.

"I dunno, it's like he wanted her at all costs...I think he's losing it over getting Ai..." Miguel muttered.

"Factor was, I never thought he 'had' it in the first place!" Rusty remarked. The comment earned him a slight chuckle from Miguel.

"He's one strange commander..." Miguel added as they both walked off to their quarters. They were about to enter their room when a soldier approached Rusty.

"It's Commander Creuset, he wants to see you." stated the soldier before walking off.

"Damn, you think he heard?" Rusty questioned.

"Nah, unless he's that paranoid, don't worry, he probably just wants to discuss something with you. I'll be in the room, later!" Miguel remarked as he went into the room and Rusty headed towards the commander's office. Rusty stepped into the office as the door shut behind him.

"Ah Rusty, I have something for you..." Cruset stated.

"What is it sir?" Rusty questioned, confused by the sudden offer.

"Here, take a look." Creuset stated, bring up an image on the monitor. "B-But that's the Aegis!" Rusty exclaimed.

"Yes, we managed to nab the Gundam before we left ORB, but unfortunately the legged ship Archangel managed to get the Strike..." Creuset muttered. "It's yours and from now on I want you to pilot that rather then your GINN."

"Yes sir." Rusty stated.

"Good, you may now leave." Creuset stated. Rusty quickly left the room as he walked back to his quarters to tell Miguel about his 'new' unit. Athrun, Nicol, Yzak and Dearka were still thinking about the events.

"Was it necessary to let Ai go with them?" Dearka questioned.

"Yeah, she should have her own choice...it's only fair..." Athrun murmured. 'That could've been me in that condition...' Athrun thought, starting to ignore the comments that any of his other comrades had to say or ask.

Ai quickly went to work on creating the counter-drug for the three as she took hold of the equipment around her. 'Hm... Let's see now...' she thought as she went at it with the various tools. A few minutes had passed by but it wasn't until Ai was about to add some things to the mix when she noticed something was missing. 'Ah! That's right!' she thought as she stopped what she was doing and walked over to the door.

"I'll be right back, there's something I left in my cockpit that I need to get." she said walking over to the door. 'How strange, I never forget about it...' she thought as she began to unlock the door. As it opened up she turned back to take one last glance at Shani. 'I promise... this time I won't leave your side...' she thought as she was about to walk out the door. It was then that she heard the conversation coming from the three others. 'Ah! It's them! Why are they coming here!' she panicked as she dashed back into the room and over to Shani's bedside. She had also forgotten to lock the door...

**Author's Notes:** Yeah, like I mentioned before we're very bad about the Destiny characters, partially for the fact that the series has yet to finish. Nevertheless, we still go on with our plans. It seems Shani has had a bit of influence on Ai due to her sudden reaction to protecting him, even if they were medics. I suppose it's a very possessive relationship between the two at this point... But I wonder... would it turn out the same if it had been Athrun in that position? Oh well, no use in letting the past drag us down!


	42. Orders are Orders

**Phase 42: Orders are Orders**

Orga and Crot noticed Ai running back into the room in a panic.

"Ai? What's wrong? What is it?" Orga questioned, putting down his book.

"Did you see something?" Crot asked, looking up from his game. Suddenly, Stella, Sting and Auel came bursting in through the door.

"The girl's going with us!" Sting shouted.

"Dammit! You're not taking Ai!" Orga retorted standing in front of the youth with his handgun pointed at the other pilot.

"Fuck off!" Crot sneered pointing his handgun at Auel. Stella managed to slip in unnoticed while the boys were busy with their stand off. Stella grabbed Ai away from Shani.

"Sorry, it's Azrael's request...I can't let you stay." Stella stated, her usual emotionless look adorning her face.

"I won't let you take her!" Crot growled, managing to grab Ai away from Stella, but lost his grip on her as Auel yanked her away. Orga tried to snag Ai back from the others, but was forced to stop his attempt as Sting finally reached his handgun and had it trained on Orga.

"Don't move..." Sting stated, giving Orga a cold look.

"Take the girl, now! I'll take care of the other one! We can't afford to let them get a hold of her." Stella remarked, grabbing her gun. Auel looked a bit shocked at first but quickly nodded and dashed out of the room with Ai.

After several moments of running, Auel slowed down his pace and took a glance at the girl he was holding captive at the moment. 'The room isn't that far away...I guess I can walk from here.' Auel thought, still staring at the girl in fascination. 'What makes her so different?' Auel questioned to himself as the images of Cerberus knocking the Abyss aside popped back into his mind.

"Hey..." Auel remarked, trying to break the silence. "How the hell did you learn how to do all that? Kids aren't supposed to be piloting Gundams..."

"I have a new mission for all of you..." Creuset stated through the intercom. "I would like my team and any other willing participant to retrieve Aiorem Heiwa and bring her back to the Versalius. She is an essential part to winning this war, the soldier who brings her back will be greatly rewarded." Suddenly whispers and rumors could once again be heard on the halls of the Versalius as most of the soldier pondered what their commander was planning.

Ai looked up at her captor, at first a bit confused, but then tried to relax a bit as he broke the silence. She turned her head away a bit as she attempted to answer him.

"I-... I don't know how... I just can..." she replied softly to him. The previous battle began to ring in her mind as the images of the three came back into her mind. 'How did I manage to do that..? The OS was completely wrong and yet...' she shook off her thoughts as she looked back over to him. It took her a while to finally noticed her now blood stained outfit. She had not realized it until now since her attention was solely on Shani. After she had made the acknowledgment she decided it best for her to pretend nothing was different. The thought of wearing another uniform wasn't exactly the first thing on her mind at the moment...

"I'm sorry..." she said softly to him.

"Don't be, I was just asking you know..." Auel quickly replied. "Lighten up, it's not gonna be so bad." He then noticed a slight detail that he had earlier overlooked, the girl was covered with blood that stained her clothing in various places. "We should get you cleaned up, but maybe I think I'll let Stella handle that." Auel commented, leading the girl along.

"By the way, what's your name? I don't wanna go calling you 'girl' for the rest of your time here on the Dominion..." Auel remarked. "Anyways, I'm Auel Neider." He looked at the girl, expecting some kind of weird reaction from her, after all, he had just taken her captive and now he was talking ever so casually to her, as if nothing had ever happened.

Meanwhile, back in the room, Orga and Crot had tried to pursue Auel, but were prevented from doing so by Sting and Stella.

"Why the fuck did you do this!" Crot demanded through grit teeth.

"We received orders from Azrael." Sting stated. "Simple..."

"So, you follow his every order like some lap dog!" Orga retorted, receiving a glare from the two pilots.

"We choose to follow his orders, unlike you, who tend to be a bit more defiant..." Stella remarked.

"We'd best get going, we've gotten what we came here for." Sting taunted, a smug look on his face. They turned to leave and strode out the door as a bullet missed it's target by inches.

"Damn..." Crot grumbled, reloading his handgun. "I could've had them..."

"Those bastards...they never explained why they had to take Ai away..." Orga muttered, glancing at Shani, who was as silent as ever in his comatose state.

Athrun almost freaked when he heard the announcements that were made on the intercom just moments ago.

"Ai...why does she have to go through all of this?" he muttered to himself, quickly walking down the halls trying to avoid any soldier that tried to get a conversation out of him. He rounded the corner and entered a room where the others were lounging around. "Did you hear what Creuset offered?" Athrun questioned, seeming quite appalled by the message.

"Yeah...we heard." Dearka murmured.

"What does he think he's trying to achieve by doing this?" Nicol asked, looking quite flustered.

"Who knows, you can never tell what the guy's thinking, believe me, I've been with him the longest." Miguel added.

"I don't know what the hell that crazy man's planning, but whatever it is, we can all tell that it won't be for Ai's best interest..." Yzak commented.

"So are we gonna get ourselves involved in this?" Rusty questioned.

"I don't know yet, I just don't know..." Athrun replied.

"I-It's Ai, Aiorem Heiwa..." she responded a bit hastily from the sudden surprise of the question. She was become a bit flustered with the sudden change in character from Auel, along with the lightening of the atmosphere around them. 'It's just so tragic... I would have never known...' she thought as the images of the battle flashed back in her mind. Footsteps could be heard behind them as the two others began to approach. Of course Ai had yet to notice with her current conversation going. 'They're all so much a like...' she thought as the pictures of her dear friends flashed over and over in her mind. 'If only we weren't fighting this war... If it wasn't for this war then none of this would ever have to happen!'

"A... Auel..?" she questioned a bit hesitantly. "Why are you piloting a mobile suit? Why are you fighting..?" She awaited his answer as the others swiftly approached.

"Heh, I guess it's kinda like I didn't have a choice in the matter..." Auel stated, noticing the others fast approaching. "Well, I guess you can meet the others cause it seems like Azrael doesn't want you to be with 'those' pilots." Auel explained. Stella and Sting came up to Auel with questioning expressions on their faces.

"Hey, what happened to actually waiting for us?" Sting demanded.

"So? It's not like you can't walk!" Auel retorted, smirking at the other pilot.

"She's dirty..." Stella whispered, her voice containing a hint of emotion. "We should get her cleaned up, she can't remain in those bloody clothing..."

"Go ahead, be my guest." Auel replied as he gently pushed Ai towards Stella. "Don't worry, you'll be fine, we're not gonna hurt you."

"I'm Stella and that's Sting over there, he can be a bit...difficult." Stella explained. Sting had heard the comment and gave a gruff sigh, trying to not do something he would regret later on. "Come on, we're just wasting time like this." Stella commented, leading her away from the guys. Ai looked back at the two with a bit of a questioning look as she was ushered away. She wanted to say something but the right words just wouldn't come to mind. That was until Auel's earlier comment popped into her head.

'Doesn't want me to be with those pilots..?' she thought curiously as she went along peacefully with Stella. 'Does that mean that... that they won't allow me to-...' The full meaning of the message finally sunk in to her mind as she stopped in her footsteps, the full image of the realization reflected on her face.

"What do they possibly expect of me..?" she questioned quietly to herself. 'That man... both of them... What is it they both want with me..?' she thought as she finally remembered what she was following Stella for. Quickly coming back to her senses she rejoined Stella, trying to erase her earlier thoughts. Stella noticed the young girl in deep thought as they walked along. It was then at one point that she noticed her stop for a brief moment only to come back by her side. Stella had heard everything that the child had uttered.

"Don't let them smother you with expectations...just ignore them and do what you're told, that's basically the only way to make it here nowadays..." Stella murmured. "I don't want to scare you or anything, but things can get pretty intense on this ship, I'm sure you already knew that..." They made their way down the halls and into the shower rooms.

"Why don't you go get yourself cleaned up? I'll go fetch you some clean clothing." Stella stated, making sure that the young girl got into the shower as she handed her a towel. "I'll be right back." Stella remarked as she strode out of the room.

Meanwhile, back in sick bay, Crot and Orga were still trying to piece things together as they cleaned up what was left from their little confrontation with the other pilots.

"What would they want with Ai? I thought that they could've cared less about her..." Crot grumbled, picking up some of the equipment that had been strewn across the floor.

"I'm more than willing to bet that it was Azrael who did this..." Orga growled.

"We've gotta get her back..." Crot muttered.

"I know..." Orga whispered. "I just don't think that there's anything we can do at the moment..." Crot slightly looked down and decided to back off on the topic as the room was engulfed by a still silence.

Athrun and the others were still discussing about how to take Creuset's sudden announcement when a soldier came through the door.

"Sorry to interrupt, but Creuset wants all of you to participate in his plans. You will be launching shortly for we have the Dominion in our sights, prepare for battle." stated the soldier, abruptly leaving the room after his brief message.

"What!" Yzak blurted. "This is fucking ridiculous!"

"I told you...that man's got problems..." Miguel muttered.

"No way, you can't be serious..." Dearka grumbled.

"This is way too soon, we were just on the battlefield not too long ago..." Nicol whispered.

"Damn...looks like Creuset's gonna go for it on this one..." Athrun remarked as everyone exited the room to get suited up for the battle that none of them wanted to fight...

'Oh well...' she thought to herself as she stood there for a while in thought. 'I guess I might as well try to relax for once...' she thought as she turned the tap and let the water begin to pour down while she indulged herself in a long needed shower. The warm water felt refreshing to her skin along with the few scars that still remained from her last battle. 'Everything that's happened so far... it all just seems so unreal...' she thought as she lost herself in the sound of the running water. 'All this time I've spent getting deeper into this war... will it really pay off in the end..?'

"Oh.. Shani..." she whispered softly as his fading image appeared in her mind. 'It's my fault... if only I had been able to...'

"If I had been able to rewrite the OS in time then I could have saved him!" she said, not taking into account that she was saying her thoughts aloud. "I'm useless..." Stella had returned and silently the clean uniform down when she had heard Ai muttering. As she realized what the child had been murmuring about, the images of the battle once again resurfaced in her mind. 'She shouldn't be blaming herself...' Stella thought. 'I was the one who struck him down...' Stella walked quietly next to the shower stall.

"You're not useless...it was my fault that he is in that condition, I was the one who struck him down, not you." Stella stated, still standing next to the stall. "You didn't do anything wrong, so why blame yourself, it's illogical..." Stella added. "By the way, your new uniform will be hanging on one of the racks. I'll be right outside waiting for you." She walked out of the room leaving Ai to relax.

"How is she?" Auel questioned, having run into Stella in the hall.

"She's fine, just a bit roughed up from the battle is all." Stella explained.

"Any kid would be." Sting remarked. "Give her some time..."

"All units ready for launch, Justice, you're up, all others on standby." stated the operator as the Justice stepped into place and was shot from the launch bay. The other units quickly followed suit as they joined up beside the Justice.

"What now? You can't really mean that they really want us to go through with this!" Yzak remarked, using the Duel's com. system.

"Looks like Creuset was serious about this..." Rusty murmured, trying to get used to the new Aegis he had received.

"There it is." Miguel pointed out, gesturing towards an object in the distance which happened to be the Dominion.

"Come on, let's get this over with..." Dearka grumbled as he zoomed towards the legged ship full speed followed by the others. Unbeknownst to them, from amidst the broken down terrain, the Impulse watched their actions carefully.

"What's going on?" Shinn muttered to himself as he decided to witness this for himself from a distance.

"Azrael, sir, it seems that approximately six mobile units are headed straight for the Dominion!" yelped the operator.

"Well then what are you waiting for! Send out those units right away, even the Cerberus!" Azrael growled.

"Yes sir." stated the operator as he began to ready the launch bay as the alarms on the ship began to blare.

Ai was considering what Stella had stated to her. It was an odd thing, to hear something close to an apology from one you thought to be an enemy. In all truth it just showed Ai how right she really was. Suddenly the ship went on red alert. The alarms made Ai nearly jump from the shower as the sudden blaring surprised her.

"All pilots report to the launch bay immediately. Prepare all units for launch!" came the operator. She was about to ignore them all, thinking she had nothing to do with battle, when the thought of Shani popped into her mind. 'It's my turn now...' she thought to herself.

Quickly, she got herself dressed, trying to ignore the fact that she was being forced to wear another uniform. After she had finished getting herself back used to the feeling she made her way out of the room only to find that the others had walked off. 'They probably already launched by now...' she thought to herself, seeing as they knew the ship far better than herself. 'But just in case...' Ai took off in the direction she assumed them to be heading. Just as she was dashing through the hall her trip came to a sudden halt. She had run directly into someone by mistake as she was rushing.

"Oh... ow..." she moaned, trying to get back to her senses from the sudden impact. "What in the-..!" When Ai finally opened her eyes she found the person she had sun into to be none other than Auel, who was already suited up and ready. Needless to say she became a bit flustered at her sudden mistake. "Ah-! I-I'm sorry!" she stammered. Auel had been so busy trying to get to the launch bay that he hadn't noticed that Ai had been rushing in his direction. The resulting collision nearly knocked Auel off his feet, but he managed to stabilize himself as he then looked towards Ai.

"What's the big rush?" Auel playfully questioned, grabbing her hand and pulling her back up, "Don't wanna get yourself on that battlefield too fast now..." Auel had noticed how flustered the child looked and realized what was making her feel that way. He gave her a smug smile, trying to reassure her that everything was okay and ran off after hearing the announcements that both the Gaia and the Chaos were ready for launch trying to catch up with the other two pilots.

"Start attacking the ship, the Cerberus will have to come out eventually." Miguel commanded, seeing as how Athrun wasn't feeling quite up to it. The mobile units began striking the Dominion with any weapon possible trying to drive out Cerberus. A retaliation shot struck Miguel's GINN head on causing the group to stop their assault for a moment to try and figure out what the source of the shot fired. They turned around to see the Chaos along with the Gaia.

"Damn, looks like we attracted the other instead." Dearka commented, readying Buster's cannon. The Abyss suddenly appeared rght behind them.

"Get out of here now, we don't need this." Stella explained. Athrun, Nicol, Yzak, Dearka, Miguel and Rusty were reluctant in leaving, slightly annoying Stella, Auel and Sting.

"Fine, have it your way, let's fight!" Sting sneered.

Ai saw Auel rush off and took notice that by the time she finally got back to her senses he had already launched. She could feel the effects of some of the others strikes as she made her way in the same direction trying to get to the launch bay. 'Wow... They must really be going at it...' she thought as she tried to hurry her way to the hangar.

"Finally, there you are!" shouted the mechanic, a hint of irritation in his voice. Ai simply gave them a blank glare and a bit of silence as she made way into the cockpit. "Alright then, I'll make sure to do this right this time!" she stated as she began to configure the OS, until she was interrupted yet again...

"We're launching Cerberus onto the battlefield, prepare yourself!" they commanded as Ai finally gave in to their demands. 'Sheesh... no patience...' she thought as Cerberus was hurled onto the battlefield. Luckily she had managed to get most of her OS fixed in time, so she didn't have many complaints. As she scanned the area she was a bit stunned to see that so many moble suits were on the field. 'Why are they all here..?' she thought. Ai set up a link with the others as she began her transmission.

"Come in ZAFT forces! Athrun, Nicol, Yzak, Dearka, is that you..?" she questioned to the units, though she already knew that no one else could be piloting them. "If you are here for me then-..." she stopped as she tried to figure just exactly what she was trying to do. It was then that she remembered the whole reason she had been in such a rush to get onto the battlefield. 'Shani...'

"If you are here for the Cerberus then I must kindly ask you to cease your attack at once or I will be forced to open fire. I will not put any more lives at risk for the sake of attaining whatever it is I or my unit may have!" she stated to them, somewhat more boldly than ever before. The Gaia, Abyss and Chaos stopped advancing towards the other units as soon as they heard the transmission from Ai.

"What is she trying to do?" Sting quietly questioned to himself.

"Ai, we have to drive them away from the ship." Stella explained.

"Orders are orders..." Auel added. The Justice, Blitz, Buster and Duel slowed down causing the GINN and the Aegis to stop as well.

"Hey, what the hell?" Rusty questioned, noticing the units slowing down.

"What do you think you're doing!" Miguel demanded.

"I-I can't do this to her..." Nicol whispered. "She's been through so much already..."

"You can do what you want, but we won't help!" Yzak remarked. Miguel was speechless; he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Why would you do this?" Miguel questioned.

"Ai means a lot to us, I know you may not understand this but...she doesn't deserve any of this!" Athrun commented. Miguel slightly paused as a brief flash of the time he had seen Ai crying ran through his mind.

"You're right..." Miguel whispered. "I suppose we could stand down for once..."

**Author's Notes:** By this time you can see how much Shani means to Ai, and the same is probable true for him as well. I'm not playing favorites or anything but so far those two have had the longest amount of contact and character developement. Besides, in the beginning they were both slanted to be the main characters of the story. Somehow we managed to get it going longer and thus added more characters, and lost a few on the way... (Dear Kanta...) Anyway, yeah I let Ai make a few configurations to the OS, but basically it's just enough to let her move and activate the blades. (For those who are curious... )


	43. Following Your Heart

**Phase 43: Following Your Heart**

"Then we'll do it for you and claim that reward!" came a shout from another soldier as another GINN shot towards the group.

"I can't let you do that!" Miguel remarked as he engaged the soldier with his own GINN.

"You can't be serious..." muttered the soldier as he saw an orange blur rush past him and realized that his unit had been quickly taken down.

"That isn't the last of them..." Dearka stated as he saw the incoming horde of ZAFT mobile suits.

"They're closing in from all directions, we're surrounded!" Auel growled. All at once, the mobile suits tried to get at Ai.

"Keep them back!" Stella stated, charging them all down in Gaia's mobile armor form.

"Quickly, don't let them get to her!" Athrun shouted to the others. The two groups were doing their best to keep the various units away from both sides. They failed to notice the aerial DINNs above them.

"Get her!" shouted one of them as he swooped in to attack Cerberus. A loud familar clang rang out as the DINN was knocked aside...

"Those bastards won't be able to get you from up here." Crot growled. Ai was speechless at the sudden turn of events. Just a moment ago she was ready to lay everything down on the line and now they were all there fighting to keep her safe. It may not have been for a noble cause but they were all there fighting. It was then that she noticed a familiar face knocking away the DINNs above her.

"Ah-! Crot!" she shouted in disbelief as she watched him continue to knock the units away. 'No... not just Crot...' she thought as she looked back all around. 'All of them!' It was then that Ai noticed the incoming units coming from every directions. It was as if the entire ZAFT forces, or at least those stationed on Earth, had come to take her back. A few GINNs managed to make it past the barrier of Gundams, along with some DINNs who had evaded Crot's attacks. They began to open fire on Cerberus as the others came in closer and took hold of the Gundam.

"Argh! Let go of me!" she shouted as she tried to shake them off. More and more kept coming as the Cerberus was soon completely covered by the enemy.

"Yes! We've got it!" shouted one of them who was holding her down. "It's just a matter of time now. This thing has to run out of energy soon!"

"Heh..." Ai chuckled at the statement. "You honestly think I'll go down that easily..?" she questioned. "Well I'm afraid you're sadly mistaken!" With that Ai activated the H.E.L.L. Driver as she swiftly shook off the units and activated the 13 blades.

"Wh-What the hell!" they shouted in disbelief as the majority of the units backed away in caution.

"There's no way that thing could have that much energy!" shouted another. "I'm gonna take you down!" With that they rushed her Gundam. Cerberus immediately retaliated by striking the limbs of the oncoming GINNs and DINNs as the majority of the units came crashing down, their pilots still unharmed. "I won't kill anyone, but that doesn't mean I won't fight back!" she stated as Cerberus let out a deep roar. Igniting her blades, Ai struck down the remainder of the units in a fiery spiral. Now, all that was left were the team of pilots and their mobile suits...

Shinn's jaw almost dropped off when he saw the spectacular attack. He had never witnessed something so gracefully executed in the midst of battle. 'There's no need for me to be here any longer...' he thought to himself as he silently left for the Minerva. All of the units had landed around the Cerberus.

"Well done Ai." Stella commented through the com. system, looking about the burned battlefield around them.

"That was awesome!" Auel remarked.

"We're glad you're okay." Athrun added.

"How did you manage that!" Rusty sputtered, awestruck by the earlier display.

"She does these kinds of things, get used to it." Yzak replied.

"Heh, I didn't expect anything less." Crot commented.

"Especially after you experience one first hand!" Dearka added, thinking back to the practice battle they had at ORB.

"We can't stay here forever..." Miguel reminded. "Crueset would be wondering about what the hell happened..."

"So? Who cares?" Yzak remarked, earning himself a glare from Miguel. Athrun chuckled a bit, seeing as how the silver haired pilot had managed to enrage his old mentor.

"Stop it you two." Nicol interrupted. "I've had enough fighting for one day." The conversation between the pilots lasted for quite the while until a desperate transmission was sent from the Raider.

"H-Help me...I-It hurts..." Crot whimpered. "I-I can't take much more of this..."

"Shit, we gotta take him back." Sting stated.

"Yeah, I know." Auel replied, grabbing Raider with Abyss.

"Wehave tocut this short, come on Ai." Stella remarked. The four units started heading back towards the Dominion with the Abyss lagging a bit behind due to the extra unit it was hauling. Athrun gave a slight sigh as he saw the three units head off.

"Great...more angry commander for us to handle." Athrun mumbled.

"Hey, don't worry about it, I'll take care of it." Miguel remarked as he started towards the Versalius.

"Are you sure?" Athrun questioned.

"Yeah, I'm positive." Miguel assured. The ZAFT units slowly began to leave the area.

"Get him out of there now!" barked a soldier. Several other soldiers pried the cockpit open and dragged out the pilot who winced on contact. "You." he sneered, glancing at Auel, who had just climbed out of Abyss. "Take him back to the labs."

"Alright." Auel stated, grabbing Crot and began to walk towards the lab.

Ai nearly burst from her cockpit looking frantically around to find where the Raider was. It was then that she saw someone turn the corner, along with the person they were carrying. 'Ah-! I have to catch up!' she thought as she began to make her way over. She got stuck in a crowd as the mechanics started to gawk at her unit. 'This is so irritating...' she thought to herself as she wove her way through the crowd only to find she had lost the two. It was then that she remembered something from the battle.

"Ah! That's right, Orga wasn't out there so that means that-...!" she stopped her speech as she turned and began to dash her way through the halls trying to get there in time. 'If Orga wasn't out there than that means he was in the lab with Shani... so then that's where Crot should be!' she deducted. After a series of twists and turns through the corridors Ai had finally made it to the room. She gave a small sigh of relief for the fact that she had made it there. She stopped as she heard voices coming from inside. Those she presumed to be the doctors who were supplying them with more drugs. Ai hid herself as they made their way out of the room. Before the door closed she swiftly made her way into the room only to freeze in place. Now standing before her and her old friends was Auel...

"And where do you think you're going?" Auel questioned. "If you remember correctly, I was supposed to keep you away from those three..." Auel walked over and gently led her out of the room. "I can't be breaking orders you know." Auel stated. Stella and Sting were still busy filling Azrael in on the details of their battle, which gave time for Auel to lead her out of that area.

"I'm sorry I have to do this to you." Auel whispered as he led Ai back to her room. "You should get some rest while you can and try not to think about it okay?" Auel suggested, trying to get Ai to take her mind off of the other Biological CPUs. 'This can't be happening...' she thought to herself as she dared not move from where she now stood. 'I want to go to them... but I can't... and I want to see him but I know I won't...' She was being torn between everything she once knew now. Unbeknownst to her tears had began to form in her eyes.

Her whole body felt cold and empty, like the warmth and happiness had been sucked away. She didn't know where to run now. Everything was so blurred, so completely dazed to her. After all, how could she ever hope to get to them when what she had to get past was those three? She didn't want to hurt them, not that she had gotten to know them, even if it wasn't much...

"W-... Why..?" she muttered softly as she dropped her head. "Why does this always happen!" She sank down to her knees, tears now streaming down her face. "I don't want this! I never wanted any of it! Why am I like this!" she questioned not paying mind to the fact that Auel had not yet left her alone in the room.

'_I don't even know anymore... if my memories are real...'_

Auel had noticed a rapid deterioration of Ai's feelings as she sank to the ground and burst into tears. He had never knew that those three had meant so much to her. They had never seemed to be the type who could bond very well with people, but by Ai's reaction, Auel had guessed that he was wrong about that assumption. The child seemed so shaken up, it was almost painful to watch. Auel had never been put into this kind of situation before as he knelt down next to the child.

It was then that he began to question Azrael's orders. 'Is it really in her best interest to be away from those three?' he wondered. 'I just don't know what's what anymore...whether these orders are for better or for worse.' It seemed as if Ai had gone and threw herself into a state of depression. Auel had never felt this bad in his life, partially from the fact that he was the one who took her away.

"Ai...I'm sorry..." he whispered to her, grabbing her into an embrace, hoping to chase at least some of her worries and fears away. Ai didn't know what to think anymore but when she felt the embrace from Auel everything seemed to disappear from her thoughts. It was that same warm feeling that always brought her back. Not knowing what more to do she laid her head against his chest as she tried to ease the pains of her thoughts. Too many things had been weighing heavily on her mind lately. It was no surprise, even to herself, that she had just suddenly broken down.

Slowly, as her breathing began to return to normal, her eyes began to struggle to stay open. Her fatigue was again catching up to her. She tried her best not to give in to that exhaustion as she did not want that feeling to go away. The feeling of having someone right there, holding her close.

"I... I don't want to be alone..." she whispered softly to him as her eyes finally shut tight. She was still in his arms but she had indeed succumb to her fatigue.

"Ai, you'll never be alone..." Auel whispered, still holding her close. He softly placed her down onto the bed and tucked her in making sure she was as comfortable as possible. "Sleep tight..." he added before dozing off by her bedside. Stella and Sting had finished their discussion with Azrael and had gone looking for Auel only to find him asleep by Ai.

"Let's leave them alone for a bit..." Stella whispered, quietly walking away from the room with Sting following her.

"How are you feeling?" Orga questioned.

"Better...it's not hurting as bad anymore." Crot stated. Orga gave a small sigh as he turned to look at Shani.

"There's been no change in his condition at all..." Orga murmured.

"Looks like all we can do is wait..." Crot added, getting out of his flight suit and taking a seat next to Orga.

Ai was soundly asleep in the bed. She had little noticed that Auel was still by her side, but in a way she still knew he was there. 'They're kind people... all of them... if it weren't for this war than none of them would have to fight...' she thought to herself in her rest. 'Imagine... a world without fighting...'

"Hey you where do you think you're going!" demanded on of the ZAFT officers who had spotted him nearby the unit. "That thing's off limits to cadets!"

"Heh, like you'd know!" he snapped back as he climbed up the unit and entered the cockpit, sending the officer a triumphant smirk. Activating the systems he prepared the unit for launch as the officers scrambled to try and stop it.

"Get the hell out of there right now!" he demanded, but still the cadet resisted.

"I don't have to listen to you or anyone else, this machine is my machine, get lost!" he stated to them as he launched from out of the base.

"Get all of our units out after that kid now!" commanded the officer.

"Uh, sir... There's a slight problem..." stated a ZAFT soldier nearby.

"Well, what is it!" he demanded even more furiously.

"It seems after the attack on the unknown unit that all of our forces are... well..."

"Are what!"

"They've been shot down sir..."

"Heh pathetic..." hemuttered as he finished shooting down the last of the GINNs in his way. "Now, on to more pressing matters..." he said to himself. He then made his way off into the distance as he set a course for his mobile suit to take. He was on his way to ORB, where all of the pilots were now positioned...

**Author's Notes:** Yeah, the last part was edited by myself because what I put before on the forum would have taken more time to play out into. Since I had intended to make the role play appear as 50 phases it simply wouldn't work. So I suppose I'll bring it back if we plan on continuing on in a new story. Though, I can't say much since we have yet to finish this one. Still planning that out as well... But what have we here? Auel and Ai? Heh heh, I'm so bad at doing that... I think Ai's said that to all the pilots by now but it seems to work every time. I guess old habits never really die.


	44. Turning Back and Moving Forward

**Phase 44: Turning Back and Moving Forward**

Auel stirred slightly as he woke up and stretched a bit. 'I guess it's about time I do something I feel is right rather than something someone tells me to...' Auel thought. He took Ai into his arms, making sure that she didn't wake up and began to walk down the hall. He stopped at the lab and slowly strode in. Orga was the first one to look up.

"What do you think you're doing here!" Orga demanded looking up from his book. Crot hushed him as he pointed to who he was holding in his arms.

"You brought her here? But why?" Crot questioned.

"Let's just say that I've changed my mind on some things..." Auel stated. "Wake up Ai..."

Orga walked up and took the sleeping youth from Auel's arms. 'She looks so peaceful...' Orga thought, not being able to hold back a smile. Ai began to stir at the sound of her name being called. She opened her eyes but squinted a bit in the change of lighting. It was then that she noticed who was carrying her.

"O... Orga..?" she questioned a bit weakly. Trying to grasp what was going on she looked around the room. "Crot..? Wh-... What's going on..?" she questioned softly. She was still a bit tired but something told her that this was far more important then sleep. 'Just what's going on..?' she thought to herself as she looked around the room and met gazes with Auel. He was silently in a corner nearby. 'Why is he-... what happened..?' she thought, but began to understand at the thought of what had previously happened. She sent him a warm smile as she awaited an answer from whoever was willing to offer it.

"I think we should let Auel answer, after all, I am just as confused as you, he just showed up with you." Orga stated.

"I just thought that you'd like to come and see them..." Auel explained. "Just forget about what happened earlier, although I'm not quite sure if the others would've agreed with what I'm doing, but Ai doesn't deserve to be separated from you guys. You mean a whole lot to her...It'd just be wrong if I kept her away from people she cared about." Orga shot Auel a slight grin.

"I guess you guys aren't so bad after all...especially when you don't take Azrael's orders." Orga commented.

"You doing okay Ai?" Crot asked, seing as how she still looked a bit fatigued.

"Thank you..." she said softly to him as she walked over and gave Auel a small heartfelt huge. Looking up a him she sent him another warm smile as she gently let go then looked around. It was then that her eyes finally met with the comatose pilot. 'Shani...' she thought as she slowly walked over to him. She gently took hold of his hand as she stood by his bedside. It didn't take long before her tears took effect.

"Shani..." she whispered softly to him as she moved closer beside him. "Shani please..." Her words were struggled as the sight of him in that condition pained her. 'It's my fault he's like this... why can't I take his place instead, it was meant for me!' she thought as she clung to his bedside, trying to fight off her tears.

"Ai...there's nothing we can do..." Orga whispered.

"He's been like that for a while, no change at all..." Crot explained. Auel felt helpless, he couldn't stop Ai's tears, he couldn't stop any of it from happening. Everything seemed to be spiraling down, until a hand gently wiped some of Ai's tears away.

"A-Ai...Please don't cry...how many times must I tell you, I can't stand seeing you like that..." came a raspy whisper. Orga and Crot's attention immediately fell upon the pilot who was lying on the bed.

"I can't believe it..." Orga murmured.

"He's finally awake..." Crot gasped.

"Hey...everything's gonna be okay..." Shani whispered, giving Ai a genuine smile as he tried to sit up and get a better look at Ai. "I haven't seen your face in so long...heh, I was starting to miss seeing your bright eyes..." Orga and Crot walked over behind Ai as they tried to keep their happiness in control.

"It wouldn't have been the same without you!" Crot exclaimed.

"We're really happy that you're okay, good to have you back!" Orga added. Auel smiled at how at the situation had turned out had turned for the best. 'I'm glad everything turned out alright.' Auel thought watching the events from afar.

Her eyes widened as the sound of his voice as her tears slowed somewhat. She looked up at him and saw his kind smile toward her. It had been so long since she had seen that smile.

"Shani!" she shouted as she climbed into his arms, sending him back onto the bed. "Shani... I-I..." her tears were beginning again as she buried herself in his chest and tried to control her tears. "Don't ever leave again! Don't you dare die!" she stated, though she never intended for it to sound so coldly. It didn't take long after that for her to calm, but it wasn't hard to tell she was still upset.

"Well...You can blame me if I do anything that stupid ever again." Shani happily remarked, a playful smirk prevalent on his face.

"I'm sure I can have that arranged..." Orga replied with Crot nodding behind him with a smug grin.

"Why don't we all take a break, all this battling's gotten me tired...anyways, I think there's someone who deserves some attention back there." Crot suggested. Auel looked slightly surprised as they turned towards him.

"It was nothing...really! I thought that Ai would've been happy here and well, you know the rest." Auel explained. Shani looked a bit confused when he saw Auel standing in the room with them.

"How long was I out? The last time I was up and about, I thought he was one of _them_..." Shani grumbled.

"Oh boy...can someone explain this to him? I've kinda had enough talking for one day..." Orga sighed.

"I'll do it, anyways, it's not like you were out there..." Crot remarked. "And I'd like some help from you too Auel. I'm not gonna go telling him the whole thing..."

"Sure, as long as it helps I suppose." Auel replied as he walked over and began explaining the past couple of days to Shani.

The Justice, Blitz, Duel, Buster, Aegis and GINN slowly returned to the Versalius expecting the worst. They quickly got unsuited and were about to make a hasty retreat for their rooms until a loud announcement from the intercom cause them to jump.

"Miguel, Athrun, Nicol, Yzak, Dearka and Rusty...I want you all in my office this instant!" came Creuset's angry announcement. Once again, the whispers of the other ZAFT soldiers could be heard as they watched the six pilots trudge reluctantly towards Creuset's office. One by one they stepped through the door and lined up in an orderly fashion before their commander. Creuset stood up and walked over to Miguel.

"What is the meaning of this!" spat Creuset as he glared at Miguel who just gave an emotionless stare right back. "How dare you decide to defy me!"

"We will not comply with your orders if they are doing unjustly things to others, especially the innocent!" Athrun argued.

"You...you're all with _that girl_ now are you! How can you favor her over my commands! She is but a natural! I am your commander!" Creuset ranted.

"We will not waiver in our decision!" Miguel added.

"What? Miguel...you've gone and sided with them too?" Creuset questioned, looking as furious as ever.

"Yes, I will refuse to take your commands if they include harming the child in any sort of way!" Miguel finished, giving Creuset a cold stare.

"This is an outrage!" Creuset growled.

"No, it's called doing the right thing against what is said." Yzak remarked.

"You...don't you dare correct me!" Creuset sneered.

"Rusty..." Creuset stated, turning towards the young pilot. "Tell me you still have your common sense..."

"I'm afraid that I have to stand with my comrades on this...she doesn't deserve you treatment and she doesn't deserve you!" Rusty stated.

"You'll all be sorry...I'm decommissioning you all from this cause, you will have nothing more to do with Aiorem Heiwa!" Creuset hissed. "Now I want all of you traitors out of my office! _Get out_! I have no squad!" The six pilots took this as a sign to get out while they still can and quickly scrambled out of the room.

"I told you he was gonna explode..." Yzak muttered.

"And it was no thanks to you..." Dearka added.

"Well, it feels right, so I don't mind!" Nicol remarked.

"He sure can yell though..." Miguel mumbled, rubbing his head. "He almost gave me a migraine...I'm glad we rushed out of there!"

"We're decommissioned so what are we gonna do now?" Rusty questioned.

"We'll find a way to get around that..." Athrun remarked as he walked towards his room. "All I wanna do right now is get some shut eye!" Everyone parted ways as they each left for their quarters. Things were once again silent in the Versalius as most of the pilots quickly drifted off to sleep...

The whole explanation seemed to drag on for a while, which had begun to disinterest Ai. She gave a slight yawn and stretched out slightly so as to keep herself awake. It was then that she noticed she was still positioned in Shani's lap... She didn't panic, but she slowly got up and walked over to Auel. It seemed their conversation was just about over.

"Auel... will you come with us..?" Ai questioned as she looked up to him, still standing by his side. "After that battle... I don't think that Athrun and the others will continue to fight by that man's orders... That means that we won't have to fight them anymore!" she exclaimed with a happy smile, trying to play the role of innocence in which most her age played by. "I don't want to fight my friends..." she stated as she tried her best to make eye contact with him. Auel looked a bit flustered when Ai had asked the question.

"Well, uh...I'm not too sure yet..." Aurl muttered, his thoughts floating to Stella and Sting. He then noticed that Ai was making direct eye contact with him as he gazed into the child's innocent eyes. "I guess I can make an exception, this once, I don't care about what Stella and Sting have to say about it!" Auel exclaimed as he corrected his first statement.

"What would we have to say about it?" came Sting's voice as he entered the room followed by Stella.

"Gah!" Auel yelped, nearly tripping as he slightly staggered backwards.

"Don't worry about us...we actually like that idea, it's better than listening to Azrael anyways." Stella stated.

"We'd also be happy to join your little group." Sting finished earning him a puzzled look from Shani, Orga and Crot.

"Well, I guess that means we just added three more units to our little arsenal..." Crot chuckled. Ai smiled happily as she saw the other two enter the room. She honestly didn't know what exactly to say, she was at a loss for words. So, instead of saying anything she rushed over to the three and brought them into a fond embrace. It was more impulse than anything else to her. 'This is... I can't believe that it's happening...' she thought happily. She let go of the three as she walked back to the others. She was beginning to feel sort of bad that she wasn't giving them much attention. It was a bit odd.

"T-Thank you..." she managed to get out as she let a sigh of relief. "But are we going to get out of here in time to meet up with the others..?" she questioned as she looked around at them all. "If I know them, they'll go back to the Archangel which should still be stationed in ORB, but how will we be able to get off this ship with our mobile suits?"

"Hey...remember the last time we did this?" Crot remarked.

"Oh yes I do Crot...we're just gonna have to be a bit more careful since we have more units this time." Orga stated.

"Sure, we'll help any way we can." Stella explained.

"Good 'cause this isn't gonna be so easy...especially in my condition..." Shani commented.

"Us two will be the first to go, after all, we've already done this once before!" Orga remarked. Crot just gave another nod as he took out his handgun.

"First we gotta clear out the hangar...our style!" Crot explained. "Just be ready by then, I'm sure you'll know."

"Alright, I'll help Shani, you two keep an eye on Ai, got it?" Auel instructed.

"Sure, why not?" Sting remarked.

"You guys ready to do this?" Orga questioned. Both Orga and Crot were by the door, handguns ready.

"Yeah, go ahead and don't get caught!" Auel replied. Crot and Orga nodded and dashed out the door. Several moments later, some shouting and shots could be heard in the hallway...

"There they go." Shani commented. "Just like always..."

Miguel was sound asleep in his room until he heard footsteps come into his room.

"Wha? Who's there?" he murmured, not wanting to deal with anything at the moment.

"It's just me, Athrun." came a soft whisper from beside his bed.

"Ungh...Athrun? What are you doing in my room?" Miguel questioned, switching on the lights.

"I just came to tell you that we're gonna be getting out of here..."

"What!" Miguel exclaimed, nearly falling out of his bed.

"Yeah...we can't keep this up any longer, we have to get away from Creuset." Athrun explained.

"In all my years at the ZAFT academy, I never thought I'd have to do this..." Miguel mumbled, sitting up in bed and rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "When do we do this?"

"Well, I was planning on tonight!" Athrun replied.

"Tonight!" Miguel remarked, giving an audible sigh. "Athrun, you never cease to amuse me..."

"I'm gonna go inform the others, you can get ready, we're gonna take our units and get out of here." Athrun stated, walking out of the room.

"I think I've gone insane..." Miguel mumbled, shoving his head into his pillow. "Either that, or it's the lack of sleep..."

Ai was following behind Stella and Sting as she watched Orga and Crot go at it. 'Here we go again...' she thought herself as she watched all four advance. It was then that she noticed that more reinforcements silently moving in on the room where she had left Shani and Auel. 'Oh no, they're after them!' she thought. Slipping past Stella and Sting she quickly made her way over to the entrance of the room.

"Hey you, over here!" she shouted taking out and extending the metal pole as the soldiers turned to face her. Knocking them off balance she maneuvered around them as they fell and knocked them unconscious. Just then the door opened to the room as Ai was trying to regain her breath. She was now positioned over the few soldiers she had taken out. She rubbed the back of her head slightly as she smiled at the two. "Heh heh, just trying to help!" she stated as she awaited them to come. Auel gave her a slight grin and helped support Shani as they made their way down the halls.

"You can't launch!" came a shout from the mechanic.

"Hey! Stop!" came another.

"Get out of our way!" Crot growled making the mechanics, operators and soldiers scramble out of Raider's way as the Gundam made it's way to the launch pad.

"We can't let you do that!" stated an operator as he shut the gates.

"You like making things difficult don't you?" Crot questioned as he knocked the gate open using Raider's spherical breaker.

"Let's go! Hurry!" Orga called out as Raider and Calamity both left the hangar.

"You got things handled here?" Sting asked.

"Yeah, we got it, the soldiers are kinda scared stiff now I think..." Auel replied, taking another glance at the soldiers around them.

"Okay, we'll see you outside." Stella remarked as the Gaia left the Dominion with the Chaos following shortly after.

"Ai, get Cerberus and leave now, I got things here." Auel stated. Shani had managed to get into Forbidden's cockpit and was waiting for Ai and Auel.

"Let's go, before their reinforcements come." Shani muttered. Seeing how the Forbidden's movements were a bit sluggish, the Abyss took hold of the Forbidden and thusly left the hangar with the Cerberus...

Meanwhile, personnel were scrambling about on the bridge.

"What the hell is going on!" Azrael demanded.

"Sir...we just lost our Gundams...all seven of them!" sputtered the operator.

"Dammit! I won't let this happen again!" Azrael growled, remembering what happened the last time his Biological CPUs had gotten away from him.

"Let them go for now...we can get them later..." Azrael grumbled watching as the units headed off.

"Is everyone ready?" Athrun whispered.

"Yeah." came a unanimous reply from the little group of drowsy ZAFT pilots who were gathered at the hangar doors.

"Liven up, we're never gonna get away at this rate!" Athrun scolded, being the only one fully awake.

"Easy for you to say..." Yzak grumbled.

"I'd rather do this in the day and fight off all the guards rather than this..." Miguel mumbled, nearly falling asleep on the ground.

"Hey come on, we're almost done...after we get some help, we'll be able to sleep okay?" Athrun questioned.

"Sure..." came another dull and unanimous reply.

"Good, let's go." Athrun commented as he opened the doors into the hangar. Everyone climbed into their respective units as Athrun fixed the launch settings. One by one, the Justice, GINN, Duel, Aegis, Buster and Blitz were shot out of the Versalius. "I'm pretty sure that Creuset won't find out until morning so let's get going now." Athun instructed as he led the sluggish units away from the Versalius.

**Author's Notes:** Wow, never thought I'd see the day when all of the pilots got decommisioned in a single moment. How awkward, huh? Now I know you're thinking we planned this one out but in all honesty we had no idea. It just sort of happened... I feel kind of bad about doing it in some ways but in others I think it'd do the pilots some real good.


	45. Well Deserved Rest

**Phase 45: Well Deserved Rest**

"Yeah! We did it!" Ai exclaimed happily to them all. "And it's all thanks to you guys." she added with a warm smile. She was overjoyed at the moment thanks to the sudden turn of events. Her friends would soon be reunited and her three new companions were now safe and free of orders. 'I wouldn't have it any other way... unless you were here with me...' she thought as she remembered the few others she had lost along the way. She didn't notice as a slight tear dropped from her eye. 'Father... Kanta... I won't let anyone else die...' she thought, tightly gripping the controls for a brief moment. Shaking off her sad thoughts she sped her unit as she took the front of the group.

"There are units up ahead, I'm going to go check it out." she stated as she moved in on the multiple units she had picked up. It was then she finally realized how many there were, and just who she knew to be piloting them... "A-Athrun, Nicol, Dearka, Yzak! Guys, is that you?" she questioned, hoping that she would finally be able to see them all again, outside of the battlefield.

"Hey, what's that up ahead?" Miguel questioned, thinking that he was seeing things.

"Those are units...wait a minute..." Athrun murmured, getting a better fix on the units up ahead, "Ai! It's the Cerberus!"

"Really?" Nicol asked, bringing Blitz around for a better look. "It is!" The incoming transmission had confirmed their thoughts as they rushed over to the other seven units.

"What are you doing out here?" Dearka questioned.

"Probably the same thing as you guys, cause I don't know the Gundam pilot alive who would go for a joyride at this time of night..." Sting muttered.

"I see..." Athrun remarked.

"Where are you headed?" Orga questioned.

"To tell the truth...we don't really know, but we were gonna try for the Archangel, I'm sure Kira and the others on that ship might be willing to join up with us...I'm not sure if we can trust anyone else..." Athrun explained.

"Then we'll go with you." Crot remarked.

"Well then we might wanna hurry before they start sending troops out here to get us." Shani commented.

"Yeah, we're not that hard to miss, just look for the cluster of mobile suits." chuckled Rusty.

"We'd better get going, the sun's gonna be up soon..." Stella commented. "That'll give them an advantage in trying to find us."

"Alright, let's go!" Auel added. The group of mobile units headed back towards where the Archangel was last spotted as the sun began to peek above the horizon.

Shinn was stretching his legs outside on the ship's deck as he saw the units head off. 'What's going on?' he wondered as he leaned over the railing, trying to get a better look. He thought nothing much of it as he went back into the ship to get ready for the day. He had gotten into his uniform and walked out of his room when an overexcited soldier nearly knocked him over.

"Sheesh, watch where you're going!" Shinn grumbled.

"Hey, you do know that the captain has orders for you?" questioned the soldier, who seems to have slowed down a bit.

"Uh no, why?" Shinn asked.

"Go down to the bridge and she'll tell you more about it!" exclaimed the soldier as he rushed off.

"Weirdo..." Shinn muttered as he strode down the corridors. When he reached the bridge, he found that everyone was in a slight panic. "What is it? What's going on?" Shinn demanded.

"I-It's horrible!" shouted one of the operators. Shinn turned to his captain to look for a better answer.

"It seems that the Versalius has just lost all of it's main units..." the captain explained. Shinn immediately thought back to what he had seen earlier. 'You gotta be kidding me...' he thought. "Do you know something about this?" questioned the captain.

"Uh...I didn't see anything..." Shinn quickly lied.

"I see..." stated the captain. "I'm going to assign you to this mission."

"Wait...what?" Shinn asked.

"Just like it sounds, I want you to investigate further into this and bring those units back." the captain instructed.

"But what about the pilots ma'am?" Shinn questioned.

"They have been deemed traitors, you may deal with them as you please, but do not harm the mobile suits." finished the captain. Shinn gave an understanding nod as he left the bridge. As he was walking down the corridors yet again, he tried to piece things together. 'That battle I saw yesterday...and now this.' Shinn pondered, not caring where he was going. He decided to look more into it anyways, only that fact that it was more out of his own curiosity rather than a need to follow orders.

Kira yawned as he sat up in his bed. He had been rather silent for the past couple of days still pondering about the many things that had been going on lately. He decided that he had wasted enough time in bed and decided to get dressed. He had wandered onto the bridge when he had heard a strange transmission coming through.

"This is Athrun Zala in the Justice. All we ask for now is that you grant us refuge aboard your ship." he stated.

"Just what are your intentions?" Murrue questioned.

"Can't we talk later on these matters?" Orga interrupted, getting slightly impatient.

"Wait, you have mobile suits of different factions with you?" Murrue asked, wanting to know the full story on this bizzare situation.

"We promise that we'll answer any questions once we get what we are asking for." Athrun finished.

"Well, how many units are in your group?" Murrue questioned.

"Hm..." Athrun stated, counting all of their units. "We have thirteen units."

"Th-Thirteen!" Murrue stuttered. "I don't know if the Archangel can handle that much of a load, but we'll try..." Murrue gave a long sigh as the transmission was cut off.

"I'll be more than happy to greet them at the hangar." Kira offered.

"Yes, that'd be quite nice..." Murrue commented. "Thank you." Kira quickly dashed off towards the hangar wanting some answers of his own.

As all of the units settled themselves in the hangar Ai got out of her cockpit and was greeted by many familiar faces.

"Birdy, birdy!" chirped the machine as it flew over and landed atop Ai's finger.

"Why hello there!" she stated cheerfully as she smiled at the curious machine. It was then she saw Kira approaching from the distance. "Ah-! Kira, over here!" she exclaimed as she waved to him. Birdy migrated onto her shoulder as she waved to him in excitement. 'I hope they don't ask too many questions...' she thought to herself as she noticed the others accompanying him.

"Hey everyone!" Kira called out as he dashed past some soldiers. Kira approached their group along with several others. "It's been awhile since we were all together like this!" Kira happily exclaimed, not quite caring about any questions, until one of the soldiers quickly reminded him. "Oh right...business is business." Kira mumbled. "Sorry, but I gotta ask you about some things before we can let you roam around the Archangel..."

"Sure, let's get this over with." Athrun remarked.

"Well, let's see, Miss Murrue wants to know why you guys are here, and how come there so many different pilots from different factions packed into one group." Kira stated, the expression on his face clearly read that he'd rather be doing something else than interrogating them.

"I'll answer this." Yzak muttered. "I've already heard your voice too many times today, Athrun. Earlier on, as the result of an earlier battle, we were branded as traitors. So later on Athrun led us and our mobile suits away from the Versalius where we ran into them. And then we came here, since Athrun figured that you might want to join up with us."

"And you?" Kira questioned to the Earth Alliance pilots, watching idly as some soldiers scribbled down notes of the conversation.

"Simple." Crot began. "We just didn't want to take orders from Azrael anymore so we ditched the place for Ai's safety and so on."

"Okay, I think that's all I'm supposed to ask..." Kira muttered, checking with some soldiers to see if everything was in order. He approached the others with a smile. "Alright, everything's set." Kira exclaimed, the gleeful look returning to his face. "You can go relax, you guys sound like you've been through a lot!" Kira took a close look at the group and noticed that Nicol had been eyeing Shani who had been eyeing Birdy who was currently residing on Ai's shoulder.

"Don't even think about it..." Nicol warned, noticing the look the other pilot was getting in his eyes.

"Especially not in your condition..." Orga added. Shani gave a sigh as he glared at the mechanical bird.

"He'll never give it up will he?" Nicol questioned.

"Nope...I don't think he ever will." Crot replied. Auel, Stella and Sting were very puzzled as to what was going on.

"Um...can we get rooms now?" Miguel questioned. "Otherwise, I'm going to sleep in my cockpit..."

"Sure thing, just come down this way." Kira replied, leading them down the halls towards the living quarters. Ai trailed behind all of the pilots. As much as she loved their company she did like to have a few moments to herself every once in a while. She had also noticed some expressions they were giving her, along with those she was getting from soldiers nearby. It was starting to get to her, simple enough.

"Birdy..?" questioned the machine as it leaned over to see her face, which she was trying to hide.

"Shush!" she whispered with her finger over her lips as she tried not to disturb the others in front of her. They were probably all very exhausted and didn't need her or the mechanical bird spoiling their already sour moods. 'The least I can do now is keep my quiet.' she thought as she continued to trail behind them.

Kira stopped as they reached a hallways full of rooms.

"Alright, here are your rooms, now as for assigning them, that won't be done by you or me...the system gets to assign you your rooms." Kira explained. A loud and audible groan could be heard coming from all of the pilots. "I'll be right back with a list." Kira stated as he dashed off towards the control room.

"This is beautiful..." Yzak whined.

"Not again..." Crot grumbled. After several moments of agonizing and waiting, Kira finally dashed back into the halls.

"Well, this is what the list says..." Kira remarked, catching the attention of every pilot in the hall, "Miguel, you're with Orga, Nicol, you're with Stella, Dearka, you're with Sting, Auel, you're with Shani, Athrun you're with Rusty and Yzak, you're with Crot... that's the way the rooms are, no chancing them either! Oh, and Ai, you can choose who you'd like to room with, so get relaxing!" Kira flashed them all a big smile before disappearing down the halls.

There was an awkward feel in the air as the pilots gazed at their new roommates. Most of them looked like they could deal with tier new partner, but a two people were already going at it from the get go...

"I want the top bunk!" Yzak shouted.

"No, I want it!" Crot hollered back.

"Oh no..." muttered bother Orga and Miguel in unison. Nearly everyone had retreated into their rooms at that instant to avoid the quarreling pilots.

"I'm not gonna let you take that bunk away from me! I deserve it way more than you!" Yzak commented, dashing into the room.

"Hey, I'm older! I should get it!" Crot argued, running into the room and grabbing a hold of Yzak's leg, preventing him from reaching the top mattress.

"Hey, let go!" Yzak growled.

"Not in a million years unless I get that top bunk!" Crot retorted.

"It's mine!" Yzak hollered, shaking his leg and trying to get the other pilot to let go of it.

"No, it's mine!" Crot sneered still hanging onto the other pilot's leg. Yzak grabbed a pillow and threw it at Crot, hitting him square in the face.

"Damn you!" Crot growled, grabbing the blanket from below him and throwing it over Yzak's head. This made the situation worse as Yzak lost his grip on the bunk and fell down entangling Crot and him in the mess of blankets and pillows.

"Look what you did!" Yzak sneered, trying to squirm out of the mess of fluff.

"What I did? This never would've happened if you had given me that bunk in the first place!" Crot grumbled. Suddenly the door to their room opened as Mwu stepped in.

"What's all this ruckus?" he demanded, and immediately silenced himself as he saw the mess the two pilots had made. "I told Murrue that this was gonna be a bad idea..." Mwu murmured, walking out of the room, rubbing his head. Crot took the opportunity in Yzak's lapse in attention and scrambled up to the top bunk and gave Yzak a smirk.

"Ha, I win!" Crot exclaimed, until he saw what was in Yzak's hand.

"Heh, what were you saying?" Yzak remarked, holding up Crot's beloved handheld.

"Put that down! It's mine!" Crot demanded.

"Nope, not until I get that bunk!" Yzak remarked.

"Never!" Crot yelled.

"Well too bad then..." Yzak stated, crawling onto the bottom bunk. Seconds later, Crot heard the all too familiar sounds of buttons being pressed.

"Hey who said you could play with that!" Crot demanded.

"Sorry, too busy playing to listen to you..." Yzak replied.

"Grr...I hate losing..." Crot mumbled, burying his head into the pillow, trying to block out the sounds of his handheld being played in the hands of another.

"How long before you break?" Yzak taunted as he continued his form of torture on the other pilot. As for everyone else, they were just trying to get settled into their rooms as the day wore on.

Ai was a bit dumbfounded by what had just occurred but she gave a shrug. It wasn't very hard for her to decide where she wanted to bunk, though in truth she was just plain out tired and didn't care either way. She had just happen to waltz into Shani and Auel's room. Birdy was still on her shoulder, though at the sight of Shani it took off out the door after Kira. Ai gave a small yawn as she walked over to the two and gave a weak and tired smile.

"Hello..." she said, though it was the only thing she managed as she basically fell asleep on the floor in front of them.

"Oh, Ai!" exclaimed Shani and Auel in unison as they came over by her side.

"Looks like she's out for the day." Auel commented as he helped Shani get her onto the bed.

"Speaking of which, who's gonna sleep where?" Shani questioned, trying not to give in to the tired feeling threatening to overtake him.

"Hm, maybe I should go sleep on the top bunk, you're injured, you can have the bottom bunk with Ai." Auel stated as he began to climb up onto the top bunk.

"Are you sure?" Shani asked.

"Yeah, now get to bed, you look just as tired as Ai!" Auel chuckled. Shani slightly smiled as he gently climbed onto the bed, trying not to wake Ai with his movements.

"Good night...or whatever time it is." Shani murmured, already drifting off to sleep. Auel poked his head to get a better view of who he was talking to.

"Good night to you to..." Auel whispered, seeing that the other pilot had already fallen asleep. Auel was thinking for a bit until he glanced at the clock and decided that it was time to get some shut eye as he curled into the blankets and snuggled his head into the pillow as the darkness gently swept over his vision. Throughout the rest of the halls, the pilots had already gotten themselves comfortable and were either asleep or finding some other means of relaxation. None of them wanted to think about the ordeals or the obstacles they had ahead of them as each one of them were overcome by sleep's gentle lull...

**Author's Notes:** We got a bit stumped at the end when it came to pairing them up again. I mean after we did the math and all was said and done I figured out Ai was the odd one out. Then when I made her pass out in front of Shani and Auel I forgot to take into account that there were only two beds. And I sort of doubted the idea of making the sleep together... Although in the end it pays off with some interesting scenarios! But I can't believe! Only 5 more phases to go..?


	46. A Moment's Reprieve

**Phase 46: A Moment's Reprieve **

Ai was still deeply sleeping. It was the first time in quite a while where she could sleep that deeply. For once she had not a worry in her world while she slumbered. Unconsciously she turned over in the bed, her arms still hanging out. This, not causing her to be holding onto Shani's side, putting her as close to him as she could be. Voices began ringing through her mind, but they were familiar ones. The voices of all of her friends and the promises in which they had made for her... So many promises from so many different people. People who at first were enemies of one another, but were now the best of friends. All thanks to the promises they made. The promise to protect the life and ideals of one person; her...

It was the middle of the night as most of the personnel in the Archangel had gone to bed. In one of the rooms, loud snores could be heard. Miguel was peacefully sleeping, having gotten what he had wanted for so long, but that didn't mean that it was what another pilot wanted... 'Someone needs to cork his mouth...' Orga thought, trying to fall asleep. Miguel's persistent snoring continued as with Orga's agony. 'Maybe I can find something to shut his mouth with...' Orga thought, silently climbing down from the top bunk and tip toeing out into the hall.

"Great." he muttered under his breath. "Where am I gonna get something to shut that guy up?" He made his way down the hall and stopped at a room he thought was empty. "Maybe I can just get something to block the guy out so I can finally get some sleep..." Orga murmured, walking into the room. It was then that he realized that the room was occupied. Orga quickly put his hands over his mouth to keep from exclaiming some witty remark about what he had laid eyes on.

'What do we have here?' Orga thought, a smirk appearing on his face as he crept slightly closer. 'I knew something was going on!' Suddenly, Auel gave a yawn and sat up in bed rubbing his eyes. 'Oh shit!' Orga thought, trying to look for a place to hide. Auel had wanted nothing more than a glass of water and slowly climbed down, causing Orga to scramble and hide himself in the worst place possible; underneath the beds. He watched as Auel left the room and tried to get out realizing that he was stuck. 'Dammit!' he thought, trying in vain to yank himself out from under the bed.

After a while of struggling, Orga managed to free himself and quickly grabbed what he had come here for in the first place which happened Auel's blanket. He silently dashed out of the room just in time as the tired pilot returned to the room only to find his blanket missing. Auel grabbed an extra blanket from the storage closet and immediately fell back asleep.

Orga trudged back to the room, having had enough excitement for one night. He entered the room and climbed up onto the top bunk. He threw one of the blankets over him and covered his head with the other, finally managing to block out the coordinator's snores. Still slightly chuckling to himself about what he had seen in that room, he slipped into a slumber. Things started to slow down once again on the Archangel as the night ticked by.

Ai was still sound asleep despite what the pilot had done. She opened her eyes slightly from the sound of the door opening and closing. Giving a small yawn she stretched out slightly but didn't much other than that as she returned to her slumber. All the while she had still not noticed how close she was to Shani. Nor the fact that she was still holding onto him as if he were a nearby pillow. Quite some time had passed now. It was later in the afternoon, just before sunset to be exact. The crew of the Archangel had been up and about for quite the while. It would only be a matter of time now before the others awoke.

Most of the pilots had woken up and were up and about around the Archangel. Miguel and Rusty were taking a walk around the halls and noticed that in one room, the pilots weren't awake yet.

"We'd better wake them up." Miguel stated, knocking on the door. There was no response from within the room. "Rusty, why don't you go in and see if they're okay." Miguel suggested, shoving the younger pilot towards the door.

"Hey, why me? you're the older one! Be responsible and get in there!" Rusty argued, backing away from the door.

"Honestly Rusty, you have to stop acting so childish..." Miguel stated, waltzing into the room. He nearly hollered when he saw what position Ai was in...

"Miguel?" Rusty questioned. "What is it?" Rusty joined Miguel in the room and being yet another witness to the bizarre scene in front of them. "Isn't that illegal?" Rusty quietly questioned.

"I think it is..." Miguel whispered, deciding to take a stand. "What do you think you're doing!" he demanded, giving Ai and Shani a stern look. Ai awoke to the loud demand coming from Miguel. She yawned and stirred slightly as she stretched. Then, wiping the sleep from her eyes, she rested her arms and head on Shani's side so as to get a better view of whomever had awaked her.

"Huh...? Wha..?" she questioned still a bit dazed. She still had yet to notice that she was close to Shani for she did not know he was there. That is, until he turned on his back causing her to shift onto his stomach. She gave a slight giggle as she found him to be oblivious of their current position as well. It was then she remembered why she was awake.

"Oh, good morning senpai!" she stated cheerfully as if nothing had happened. She addressed him like that only for the reason that she still had yet to be properly introduced to either of them. For that reason she understood just why they thought it was awkward for her to be with Shani. "Are the others all outside as well?" she questioned, trying to change the subject.

"Ah, yes, most of them are." Rusty intervened. "Except for Athrun...he's been in his room and has still yet to come out." Miguel pushed Rusty back with a slightly annoyed expression due to the way Ai had greeted him.

"Uh, well you could just call me Miguel." he remarked. "And that's Rusty."

"We just wanted to make sure that you guys were okay." Rusty explained. "After all, you were the only ones who are still sleeping." Auel had woken up due to the noise from the conversation and poked his head out to see just who their 'visitors' were.

"Good morning..." he yawned, stretching a bit.

"Sorry to have woken you, and it's more like good afternoon now." Miguel stated. Shani stirred slightly, feeling that there was something on top of him.

"Wh-What's going on?" Shani murmured, opening his eyes and finding Ai on top of him.

"Uh, we just sort of dropped by..." Miguel stammered, trying to explain the current situation.

"Heh, no harm done right?" Rusty playfully questioned. The two pilots were beginning to feel slightly flustered already. Shani was confused by the whole situation. It was then that he noticed just exactly what position they were in...

"A-Ai?" Shani yelped, blushing due to his slight embarrassment. "S-Sorry about that..." Shani stammered, gently sliding Ai off of him.

"Athrun?" Kira called, knocking on the door.

"What is it?" came Athrun's voice from the inside of the room.

"Are you alright in there? Everyone's already out and about!" Kira commented.

"Yeah, I'm just fine." Athrun replied.

"Well then can I come in?" Kira asked. "Everybody's been questioning about you..."

"Sure, just shut the door behind you..." Athrun trailed off. Kira walked into the room to find little parts and tools littering the floor.

"Another one?" Kira chuckled, already knowing what his friend was up to.

"Uh huh." Athrun replied, still trying to concentrate on his work.

"Who's it for?" Kira questioned.

"Oh, someone..." Athrun remarked.

"Ah, I see..." Kira replied, knowing who the mechanical pet in the works was meant for. "Heh, you gotta let me see it when you finish!" Kira exclaimed. "I'll be around the mess hall area if you need anything."

"Alright." Athrun replied, grabbing another tool. He gave a small sigh and once again began to look over his blue prints.

Ai gave a slight sigh as Shani slid her off of his stomach. She stared up blankly at him.

"Ruin my fun..." she muttered as she sat up in place, crossed her arms and huffed in another direction. 'They always treat me like I'm some sort of kid! Darn it!' she thought as she shut her eyes and tried to vent her anger through her thoughts rather than do something to the others.

"Right then, I'm leaving!" she stated a bit coldly as she stepped on top of Shani on her way out. She turned around to face Miguel as she waved happily at the two, ignoring Shani. "See you later Rusty and Miguel-senpai!" She wandered into the hallway as the door closed behind her. She didn't feel bad about what she had done, just a bit... lonely... It was then she noticed that someone was still in another of the rooms. She decided to wait outside, in curiosity of who it might be.

"Yowch!" Shani whimpered, having been on the underside of Ai's foot. "That was unnecessary..." Miguel and Rusty were just about to leave as well, until Miguel heard the last part of what Ai had said.

"Gah!" Miguel interjected, nearly tripping to the ground. "I should've told her to not call me that..." Rusty just pushed him out, chuckling all the way. Shani was still rubbing at the area where Ai had stepped on him and forgot that Auel was still in the room with him.

"You really got her mad didn't you?" Auel remarked, giving Shani an innocent look.

"Hmph..." Shani muttered, falling back into the bed.

"Okay, no need to be that way about it..." Auel commented, climbing down. "I'm gonna go get some food..." The pilot walked out in a huff as the door quickly shut behind him. Shani tried to go back to sleep, but nothing was helping... he couldn't keep his mind off of Ai. Finally, after about an hour of futile attempts, he decided that he'd better go talk to her and walked out the door trying to find out where the youth had gone.

"Almost done..." Athrun muttered to himself. "Just a couple more things..." He thought back to the time when he had made Birdy for Kira as he gave a smile. 'That was so long ago...' he thought. 'Yet he still has it...' Athrun had wanted to finish it before anyone else was to stumble upon his little creation.

Ai had been waiting outside the door for quite the while now, although she hadn't noticed the time passing. She was deep in thought about everything at the moment. It was then she decided it was finally about time for her to give her waiting a rest. As she was about to head back the the room she saw the door slide open, revealing Shani. Her eyes widened as what she had previously done to him sank back in. 'Oh crud! I can't let him find me!' she thought as she glanced around looking for an escape. She found an unlocked emergency exit and decided to slip out of the ship.

"Ah! That was a close one..." she said to herself with a sigh of relief. Looking around the area she noticed that maintenance was still being done on the Archangel and decided to wander the area. It was then that she spotted a familiar friend as her eyes brightened in delight. "Cagalli!" she called out to her. "Hey Cagalli, Caga-..!" her speech was quickly cut off by a familiar sound. Alarms began to blare through the area. ORB was under attack, again...

"Well it should give them a fighting chance now... Those damned war-hungry dogs would have them if it weren't for this..." he said to himself as he finished his small amount of fire on the grounds.

"Raithe? Raithe come in!" came a girl's voice over the transmission. "Raithe are you on your way?" she questioned.

"Yes, I'm just trying to help out a few friends..." he commented as he positioned Fenrir away from enemy radar, activating a Mirage Colloid.

"Raithe you can't be fooling around now!" she scolded.

"Hmph... I don't take orders from you, remember Lyai..? Anyway what happened to the Kanta this is normally his job!" questioned Raithe, a bit curious as to where his friend was. There was a hushed silence on the transmission...

"Raithe... Kanta, he..."

"He what..?" he asked again, a bit concerned as to why Lyai was acting like this.

"He's not coming back, Raithe..." He froze in his cockpit at the sound of those words. It hurt him deeply for Kanta was almost like a brother to him. "Listen to me Raithe." Lyai began, trying to get his attention. "I know this is hard, especially now that Ayusagi has been discharged and sent off to a colony but we have to finish what he started. Do you understand..?"

"Yeah..." he said as he gave a slight nod while leaning back in the cockpit. "We have to finish this war once and for all."

"That's right." Lyai responded, a bit relieved as to his attitude.

"Oh quit with the melodrama!" came a cheery voice.

"Me-Meamie!" Raithe stammered at the shock of hearing her suddenly appear from nowhere.

"That's right you sourpuss! Now cheer up! You're just as bad as Kanta and the commander sometimes, I swear..." she said rolling her eyes at the end of her comment. Raithe sent her a blank stare. "Right, right, the mission... Raithe, we need you to escort the Archangel and the Kusinagi out of there. We'll be waiting for you at Jachin Due along with Ms. Clyne and the Eternal."

"Wait a minute... escort..?" he questioned, a bit dumbfounded by the commands. Meamie nodded.

"Yes, make sure they all get here without fail. Don't let anyone get in your way. Neither ZAFT, the Earth Alliance and even Blue Cosmos can mess up this plan now. If they do then all will be lost..." Meamie stated a bit coldly.

"Alright then, do you understand your orders Raithe?" questioned Lyai trying to make sure the pilot was prepared.

"Yeah, let's do this!" he said he readied himself for battle. "For the commander... and for Kanta..." Lyai and Meamie nodded as the transmission faded with the two sending Raithe their hope and a salute.

**Author's Notes:** Well I know I put Shani in the badguy position suddenly but come on, Ai just wanted a little attention and she gets pushed aside, how cruel! So yes, she gave him a little piece of her mind... Meanwhile I finally unvieled the mysterious disappearance of our dear little Raithe! (Yeah... that was corny...) Anyway, now that OMEGA has basically been disbanded and the pilots all discharged from their factions or labelled as traitors things are going to get interesting... I know we have a few more phases left and I promise they'll be worth the read!


	47. To Space

**Phase 47: To Space**

Shani was still searching for Ai when the familiar sound of the alrams filled his ears.

"Damn..." Shani grumbled, knowing that he wasn't going to be doing as well as he should be in the battle due to his earlier injuries. "Here we go again..." Everything was being thrown into chaos once more as soldiers rushed this way and that.

"Hurry! Get to your units!" came a shout.

"We have to launch now!" came another. Rusty and Miguel were trying to weave their way through the crowd.

"Move...I don't have time for this..." Rusty muttered, pushing past a majority of the crowd.

"Come on, hurry it up!" Miguel grumbled as he had to squeeze in between some of the slower cadets.

On his way to the hangar, Nicol had run into Dearka and Yzak.

"Where's Athrun?" Nicol asked, trying to get his voice to go over that of the alarms.

"The last time I saw him, he was in his room, but he's bound to come out now that there's an attack!" Yzak shouted, gesturing for Nicol to come with them for the time being. They had managed to make their way to the hangar as they saw that most of the units were already launched.

"You think that this is it?" Dearka murmured, seeing the severity of the situation.

"Maybe, and who knows...maybe we could put an end to this war and leave this kind of life behind..." Miguel answered as he came up from behind the group.

"Where are the others? Their units are still here..." Nicol questioned, noticing that none of the Gundams had been launched yet.

"Let's wait for them, it's better to go out there in numbers judging by the porportion of it all." Miguel stated.

Meanwhile, Crot and Orga were dashing in between soldiers, struggling to get to the hangar when they ran into Auel.

"Hey, have you seen Shani?" Orga questioned.

"Um, no... I left the room a bit earlier, but he was still in there..." Auel recalled, trying to see if he could remember anything else without running into the wall at the same time.

"Okay, we're gonna go search for him, who knows what the hell he'll do, and he's not even fully recovered yet..." Crot explained. The two pilots dashed in the other direction leaving Auel to wonder where Sting and Stella had gone.

"Get out of my way!" Shani growled, shoving several soldiers away who were just lagging behind. He saw Sting and Stella trying to make their way through the crowd and decided to follow their path to the hangar.

Kira had made his way to Athrun's room and practically dragged him out of there, telling him that he could finish it later.

"Come on Athrun, they need as much help as we can give!" Kira exclaimed, still dragging Athrun along.

"Okay, I get it, I'll do it later." Athrun remarked, trying to get Kira to let go of him seeing as how he was fully capable of walking.

"We can't afford to wait for people any longer...we have to launch now...the other soldiers are getting slaughtered out there..." Miguel stressed, for the pilots there were already suited up. Everyone quickly agreed as they scrambled to their Gundams.

"Wait!" came a voice. Everyone slightly paused and glanced to where the source of the voice had come from. Cagalli was out of breath with a determined look on her face. "You're not leaving without me!" she called.

"What do you mean by that?" questioned a voice from behind her. Athrun came running up to her with a reluctant look on his face. "You don't even have a unit! Not to mention that you could get yourself killed out there as well!"

"I won't!" Cagalli argued. "And I do have a unit! It was developed while you guys were away. It's called the Strike Rouge." Athrun was about to argue with her statement until she clasped her hand over his mouth. "Don't you dare say a thing about it!" Cagalli added, stomping off to get suited up. Athrun had a shocked expression adorning his face as he and Kira ran off to get suited up as well. Shani, Orga, Crot, Stella, Auel and Sting were the last to arrive on the scene.

"Sorry it took so long, we got caught in the crowd of soldiers." Stella remarked. The others also gave looks of the same manner and dashed off to get suited as some of the units began launching. Mwu managed to slip in unnoticed and launched his new unit onto the battlefield as well.

"God what is it with everyone today?" Ai huffed as she stomped her way over to the hangar. Her day had been going from good to bad to worse and it was just getting on her nerves... Entering the cockpit as she had finished suiting up she readied her systems for launch. "Let's go already!" she demanded slightly through grit teeth as she launched onto the battlefield, though she decided not to launch herself inside of the group. 'If they want to go and forget about me then they can... I'll just do what I will over here...' she thought. It was then she saw a strange unit nearby that she had picked up on radar.

"A Mirage Colloid..?" she questioned to herself as she zoomed in, she barely noticed it until some of the nearby soldiers had been shooting at one another causing smoke to settle near the machine. 'Well whatever it is... it seems to be too close for comfort...' she thought. "Oh well..." she said to herself. "Sorry but I can't allow you to be near here!" she shouted as Cerberus rammed the unit causing it's colloid to falter and finally shutdown.

"Wh-What! Who in the-!" questioned Raithe as he got his bearings back. "Hey who the hell do you think you are!" he demanded as he set up a video link with her. Ai froze as she saw his face and the mobile suit he was piloting. Backing her unit away she stared it down intently.

"R-... Raithe..?" she questioned a bit sweetly to him. His eyes widened at the sound of her voice as he finally realized just who it was piloting the unit.

"Ah! Ai! Ai it's you!" he shouted in astonishment as he took note of her new unit. "Ai why are you here?" he questioned, more concerned about her being on the battlefield than the fact that she had just rammed him.

"I have to protect this place and these people." she answered, this time with a more serious tone. Raithe sighed and shook his head in dismay.

"Ai, I'm sorry but I can't allow you guys to fight a meaningless battle down here. You'll be killed, it's suicide!" he stated, a desperate cry in his voice. "Listen to me, ORB has been evacuated and it's citizens are safe, it's you and your friends who are in trouble! The real battle to be fought is in space, Ai." he reasoned with her.

"What are you talking about? Look at the oncoming forces, what do you call this!" she demanded.

"This is just the beginning!" he snapped back at her. "Don't you see? This was the plan all along, ORB was targetted for it's mass driver after Panama was lost without it the Earth Alliance won't be able to launch into space. Uzumi knew this and evacuated it's people and now we need to evacuate you!" he scolded trying to get his point through before it was too late. Ai was utterly lost at his grave news but shook off her dismay as she looked back to the others with much doubt.

"But... But what about ORB..?" she questioned, still in a state of doubt.

"It was lost the moment Panama was... I'm sorry Ai..." he answered gravely. "Listen, there's still a chance to end this and it's in space. Come on Ai, please trust me... It's our last hope." he pleaded to her. Many things were now weighing heavily over the child's head but after the news she had heard she had decided.

"All units come in, all units come in!" she stated as she started a transmission with the others. "Everyone... we must escape to space at once!" she stated to them all.

"Now, before any of you question this please listen to me. ORB has been lost either way we look at it. Panama has been taken over and the mass driver is now on the Earth Alliances top lists as a must have. We must launch into space and destroy it before the Alliance has a chance to take it. We can end this war in space if we cut the forces in half!" finished Raithe as he and Ai made their way into sights view of the others.

"Please listen to him, what he says is the truth!" Ai pleaded trying to get the others to listen.

"Besides... Ms. Clyne, Lyai and Meamie are up there waiting for us." Raithe added with a warm smile.

Everyone turned around to face Ai and Raithe, trying to comprehend their logic on the situation.

"If everyone's already evacuated, then I suppose that we could give it a shot..." Kira contemplated.

"If so, then we're gonna have to hurry, more of them are approaching!" Crot stated, having seen the incoming troops from the sky.

"Shit...that doesn't give us much time." Miguel muttered.

"If we're gonna make this work, then we need to act now!" Yzak remarked.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's get our asses into space!" Orga commented.

"Yeah, if the others are there, then we should go and back them up." Athrun commented. 'Meamie...' Crot thought, getting slightly side tracked.

"But we can't all go on the Archangel...it'll be too slow with all of the added weight" Dearka stated.

"That's why half of us can use the Kusanagi!" Cagalli exclaimed.

"The Kusanagi? What's that?" Nicol questioned.

"It's over there!" Cagalli stated, pointing towards a ship that was docked in the hangar and was being prepped for launch.

"Alright, who's going on the Archangel?" Kira questioned. "Only six of us can go on each ship."

"We'll go on the Kusanagi." Shani stated as Forbidden, Calamity and Raider stepped to Cagalli's side.

"Well, three more units!" Cagalli shouted. The Abyss, Gaia and Chaos also stepped over.

"The rest of you can head off with Kira." Stella explained.

"Okay, that solves it, we'll see everyone in space." Kira remarked, walking off towards the Archangel. Cagalli led the others towards the other ship and began to get the Gundams boarded.

"Kira, there you are!" Mwu exclaimed, having been waiting by the Archangel in the Strike. "What's going on?"

"We're going into space, the rest of this battle is going to be fought there." Kira explained. "Half of the units went onto the Kusanagi. We need to get into space now!"

"Alright, start getting all of the Gundams on board." Mwu stated, leading the Gundams into the Archangel's hangar. Transmissions were being sent to and from both ships.

"Are all of the preparations ready?" Murrue questioned through the link.

"Yes, everything seems alright, you may now launch." Cagalli stated. The Archangel proceeded forward onto the mass driver as it shot into space. Shortly after the Archangel launched, the Kusanagi went into the same process as both ships began their assent into space.

Ai got out of her cockpit and was met by Raithe who took her hand in his and eased her back down.

"Hey there, it's been a while, huh?" he questioned. He smiled at her warmly, it had been quite some time since the two had seen one another.

"Yeah it has, but I'm glad you're alright." she stated as she pushed him away somewhat playfully. "You had me so worried after OMEGA took off that day. Sure, I was too busy worrying about being taken away but when I never saw your unit again I thought for sure something bad had happened to you."

"Oh really now? Well I thought I'd take a break is all..." he said quite bluntly as he shrugged his arms. Of course, this action said more than just words to Ai...

"I was worried sick about you and all you can say was you were taking a break!" she shouted furiously at him. "Urgh I swear! It's always the same with you guys! All you male pilots are the same..." she groaned as she crossed her arms and huffed in another direction leaving Raithe alone in the hangar. He rubbed the back of his head as he tried to figure out what he had done.

"Geez..." he muttered to himself while on his way to the bridge. "Why is she so touchy all of a sudden..?" He turned a corner and entered the doors as he saw Cagalli and Murrue still keeping up with the link. Raithe walked over to one of the controls and waved to the two. "Hey, don't mind me I just have to do something real quick!" he said as he tampered with some of the communications equipment and started a link with another.

"... Com-... Come in... Archangel... Please... Respond-..." came a fuzzy transmission.

"Hm... Okay maybe I should fix that..." he said to himself as he went back to work, this time a clear picture showed up on screen, some familiar faces along with it.

"Hey guys!" came a cheery voice, it was Meamie with Lyai at her side. "Nice to see you, Archangel. You too Kusanagi!"

"Yes, we're glad you made it out of there safely." added Lyai from behind.

"Just where is your ship located?" came a voice that nearly made Raithe jump back in place. It was Ai who had managed to find her way to the bridge while venting her anger only she had returned to find this ongoing transmission.

"Oh my, Ai is that you?" questioned Meamie curiously. She had not seen Ai back in ORB so she assumed she was sent away to a colony.

"Ai you're here as well? But why? And why were you back at ORB you shouldn't be fighting!" protested Lyai as she joined in Meamie's slight curiosity. Lyai had thought that Ai was going to be sent somewhere safe but finding her in a battleship was a bit of a wake up call for the two girls.

"No need to worry about me." she stated with a light smile. "I'm a pilot and what I can do to help is all that matters, isn't that right Raithe..?" she questioned as she turned back to him. Raithe was a bit confused as to why she had lightened up so suddenly but shook it off as he nodded.

"Yeah, we need that help anyway." he responded with a smug look.

"Right then... Well, Ms. Lacus told us to send you guys the coordinates as soon as possible so I suppose now might be a good time if any." Meamie said, as she was beginning to trail off a bit with old times.

"We're not far from your location, but for precautions we've had to hide ourselves from ZAFT forces who have decided to appear every now and then. They're all gathering together at Jachin Due, this cannot fair well for the PLANTs or Earth." Lyai stated as a map was shown on screen showing the locations of the ship and the enemy forces.

"I've also heard word that the Earth Alliances forces here in space were readying themselves as well. What we are about to delve into may be the last chance we have at stopping this war." Meamie added. Ai had noticed that the other pilots were in the room as well, which made it easier since they didn't have to help with an explanation.

"It seems we'll be meeting up with your ship soon." Ai said as she was looking over their current positions.

"Oh... well, um... I suppose that should be more like 'ships'..." Meamie corrected as she looked back to Lyai who nodded in agreement.

"Yes, we're here with Ms. Clyne and her vessel as well. You have the pride of OMEGA here by your side too. Meamie and I will be lending our strength in the coming battle." added Lyai as she saluted to the crew.

"Now since we've spent the majority of your time explaining the situation it won't be too long until you can dock with our ships and move some of your mobiles onto ours. The added weight must be a bit of a pain." Meamie said trying to lighten the situation. "I'd advise you to send over the Cerberus and Fenrir to us. The Forbidden, Raider and Calamity as well. Epsilon's Mirage Colloid holds up pretty well so having that many units will be no problem for us. Be seeing you!" she gave a slight wink as the transmission faded.

"Uh... Um... C-Captain Ramius, is all of this okay with yourself..?" she questioned curiously to her as she had not heard a word from the others during the whole negotiation.

"Yeah, I mean they welcome you with open arms but it is entirely this ships and the Kusanagi's decision." stated Raithe as he looked over to the Archangel crew and pilots and the onto those in the Kusanagi.

"Well, sure!" Cagalli remarked. "We'd be happy to take you on your offer!"

"Yes, we wouldn't mind at all." Murrue stated. "In fact, we'll be reaching your location in approximately ten minutes."

"Hey Shani, Crot, Orga, I want you guys to be ready." Cagalli explained over the intercom, "You'll be transferring over to the Epsilon when we reach our destination."

"Yeah, we got it." Crot replied. The Forbidden, Raider and Calamity shifted towards the gates.

"Everyone else, remain on the ships until further orders are given, understand?" Cagalli added.

"Yes ma'am!" came all of the pilots in unison.

"Miss Athha, we're there." stated an operator.

"Alright, open the gates." Cagalli instructed.

"Yes ma'am." replied the operator. The gates of the Kusanagi slowly swung open to reveal the three Gundams as the hopped off the ship and flew towards the Epsilon.

"The Eternal will take the Justice and the Freedom, after all, this ship was meant for those two units..." came a familiar voice.

"A-Andrew Waltfeld!" Cagalli managed to stutter out.

"Why, yes it is." Andrew replied. "I'm now the captain of this ship."

"I see." Cagalli remarked.

"Hello there, it's been a while since I've seen all of you." came another voice.

"Lacus!" Kira happily exclaimed, having been listening to the whole conversation through a link.

"Heh, now that we got that out of the way...let's focus on our main matters..." Andrew stated.

"Namely, this..." Lacus murmured, as the blueprints for GENESIS flashed onto the screen of all of the ships.

"W-What is that thing?" Murrue questioned.

"It's a top secret weapon that ZAFT had been working on, and it looks like they wanna use it to end the war." Andrew explained.

"How are we gonna stop it?" Cagalli asked.

"We have to destroy that weapon before they get a chance to fire it...or it may destroy all of humanity on earth!" Lacus stressed.

**Author's Notes:** Heh heh... Yeah, if you've noticed I finally decided to try my hand at actually explaining the technical stuff in Gundam. I never really tried before since I always thought my thoughts were a bit mixed on this stuff but I finally managed. As much as some of you guys think this battle is one-sided think again. You have to take into account some things about the units they pilot. In all honesty I admit that the ones I created are flawed. None of them really work well in a space enviornment, they were created mainly for land and sea battles. Just keep that in mind, for those of you thinking that this battle will end in a split second. Seems our little story is about to reach it's finale soon...


	48. Counting Down

**Phase 48: Counting Down**

The Cerberus and Fenrir were the last to arrive, although Shani Crot and Orga had yet to leave their mobile suits. Ai and Raithe exited their cockpits as the stood there in the hangar.

"So, those three again, huh?" questioned Raithe as he gazed up at their mobile suits. "I never would have thought I'd be seeing those things again." he stated with a bit of a laugh. "I mean, don't get me wrong your friends are really great... It's just that... Well I wish we weren't putting so many of them at risk." Raithe's tone drastically changed as he was talking, and the look on his face was now very grave. Ai looked at him with a bit of worry.

"Uh... Hey, Raithe I want you to promise me something, 'kay?" she said as she tapped his shoulder and wandered in front of him, her hands behind her back. He raised a brow in question as she looked at her with curiosity.

"Um... Okay, shoot."

"I need you... To promise me... That you'll fight by my side... and you and I will come back from all this." she said while she wandered her away around him and stopped at his back as she tapped it lightly. Raithe smiled as he gave her look of satisfaction and a small wink.

"Of course. After all, I promised you that a long time ago. I'll be there whenever you call my name." he said smugly as he placed his hand on her shoulder. The two began to laugh happily together for a short while until they noticed a certain few people enter the area.

"Good to see you all made it." came Lyai's voice as she approached the two.

"Hey, Lyai! Where's Meamie..?" Raithe questioned as she noticed her to be nowhere in sight.

"Over there, come on!" said Ai as she motioned toward the three Gundams. "Race you!" Ai taunted to Raithe as the two took off in the direction of the mobile suits and chased each other around the units for a short amount of time. Lyai stood there in front of the Calamity while Ai and Raithe chased each other around the base of the Forbidden happily.

"Kids have to be kids sometimes I suppose." she said as she leaned back on her foot and crossed her arms. "Hey tough guy, you coming out?" she called out to Orga as she waited patiently.

Meanwhile Meamie was shyly awaiting the cockpit of the Raider to open. She looked up at it curiously and nervously as she saw the others nearby. 'Is he coming..? Is he really here..?' she thought to herself as she looked up at the cockpit, this time with a worried look.

"C-... Crot!" she called out to him after finally getting up enough nerve to call out his name. She had given up, she didn't care if the others saw her or not anymore, just as long as she could see him again. Just as long as he was going to keep her promise. Lyai saw Meamie calling out to him and smiled happily. She was glad she held no ill will toward the pilot and was overjoyed for her eagerness to see him. But Lyai as just as much so to see Orga as Meamie, for ever since the two had encountered the pilots something about him clicked with him in her mind.

Raithe stopped chasing Ai around as she stopped to take a breath. All of their running was starting to tire her.

"Hey you okay?" he asked as he walked over and held onto her side, trying to support some of her weight so she wouldn't fall.

"Oh... uh... Yeah I-I'm just fine, really!" she assured. She was just waiting now. All of them were. After all, this would be the last few moments of peace they would have until the battle was over and the victor decided.

"Heh, having fun down there?" Shani commented, stepping out of Forbidden's cockpit and seeing how the two were having a good time playing chase around his Gundam. Orga slightly blushed atLyai'scomment.

"Gah, I'm coming!" he called, nearly tripping out of Calamity's cockpit, still not noticing that his face was still slightly pink.

"Miss me?" Crot teased, stepping out of Raider's cockpit and lowering himself using the extension rope. All three of the pilots managed to get themselves down and greeted the happy group.

Auel, Stella and Sting had gotten themselves out of the Abyss, Gaia and Chaos and were now wandering through the halls of the Kusanagi. They entered the bridge and decided to see just what was going on.

"How has everything been for you Mr. Waltfeld?" Cagalli questioned through the link.

"Oh quite alright, just that getting this ship wasn't the easiest thing in the world now is it Miss Clyne?" Andrew remarked.

"Oh yes, but what matters is that we have it now!" Lacus exclaimed.

"Haro!" came a happy call as Pink-chan bounced into Lacus' lap.

"All we want you to do right now is to be ready for anything." Andrew explained.

"Sure thing." Cagalli replied.

"You think that ZAFT's gonna actually fire GENESIS?" Nicol questioned, still trying to get the horrid thoughts out of his mind.

"I don't know..." Miguel murmured. "Right now I'm not too sure. Both sides are trying everything they've got to make the war end in their victory..."

"That's just horrible..." Nicol whispered.

"Well, not if we can do something about it!" Yzak remarked, trying to lighten the situation. "Sure, the odds are against us, but who knows! We may just be able to pull it off."

"Let's hope so." Dearka commented. "Otherwise, we're gonna have some big problems..."

"Then I guess this is it..." Rusty murmured.

"We're just gonna have to give it our all and hope that we get through this alright." Miguel stated with a serious expression on his face.

The Justice and Freedom had finally made it into the Eternal's hangar. Kira and Athrun had quickly climbed out of their Gundams and rushed to the bridge.

"Ah, you two are finally here!" Lacus exclaimed.

"So, how's everything going?" Athrun questioned.

"Just waiting...until someone makes a move." Andrew stated.

"I see..." Athrun murmured. Kira had been staying back behind Athrun with a nervous expression on his face.

"Is something the matter Kira?" Lacus questioned, noticing that Kira hadn't spoken a word since he arrived on the Eternal.

"Oh! N-Nothing's wrong...I'm just a bit nervous that's all..." Kira whispered.

"Anxiety eating at you, kid?" Andrew asked.

"Sort of...what happens if we can't do this? What about all of the innocent people we'd let down?" Kira muttered.

"Don't think like that Kira." Lacus commented.

"It's not impossible...just a bit difficult is all." Athrun added.

"Listen Kira, just try...as long as you try your best, give it your all...peace may once again reign throughout the colonies." Lacus stated.

"I guess you're right." Kira remarked, giving a small smile towards the group.

"Yeah...it's gonna be alright." Athrun commented, trying to hide his own anxieties that he had been feeling.

"Ah! Shani!" Ai exclaimed as she tried to go over to him but tripped in the process. Raithe caught her before she fell but the end result was the both of them falling to the ground, Ai on top of him.

"Gah... Ai..." Raithe groaned as he sent her a cold and annoyed look.

"Eh heh eh... S-Sorry!" she said as she tried to get herself off of him, but failed in the process.

"Hmph... You mind giving us a hand here..?" Raithe asked as he sent his look onto the on looking pilot who had seemed to be enjoying the whole series of events.

"Well looks like you haven't changed much." she said as she took hold of Orga's hand and helped ease him back up straight. "I'm glad to see you're alright... After all it has been some time since we last talked." she said, though her tone was a depressing one. "The battle will start soon... I want you to come back... No... I need you to come back..." she said as she held close to him. It was in the moment and somehow felt right to her.

Meamie was overjoyed to the point of tears as she rushed over and took hold of Crot. She held on tightly to his uniform as she grasped onto the fabric not wanting to let go. All of them wanted that moment to last forever. None of them wanted to experience what was about to unfold, but as cruel fate would have it their ships were now in position.

Jachine Due now lay before the group of ships. Now approaching were ZAFTs forces ready to defend the front lines and the PLANTs to the bitter end. But close by the Earth Forces were assembling and they had brought along more than just their standard units. The war was about to escalate to a new level. A dangerous one of nuclear proportions...

"Look at them...those filthy, disgusting naturals..." Creuset grumbled, eyeing the Earth Alliance ships.

"Sir, GENESIS is almost ready." stated one of the operators.

"Good, also make sure that the Providence is prepped." Creuset instructed. "I'm going to personally make sure that this is the last time we'll ever have to deal with them..."

"Yes sir!" replied the operator. "The GINNs are in full formation." stated another operator.

"Yes, have them defend GENESIS until it is full functional." Creuset commanded. "I'm going to go get suited up..."

"We can't let them fire that thing!" Azrael growled. "Are all of those Strike Daggers out there?"

"Yes sir." stated and operator.

"And what about those nuclear missals?" Azrael demanded.

"They are loaded onto the mobile armors and in position surrounding the PLANTS." answered the operator.

"We're gonna end this here and now...I don't care what happens, as long as we're victorious!" Azrael sneered. "If those damned coordinators think there gonna win this then they're dead wrong!"

"Sir, do you want us to proceed with the attack at once?" questioned another operator.

"Yes! Do it! Do it now! Before they get a chance to fire it!" Azrael hissed.

"Yes sir!" came the unanimous cry from the crew. "All units are to commence the attack!" the operators stated through the link.

"It's starting..." Murrue murmured. "Time to deploy our units."

"All pilots are to launch immediately! I repeat, all pilots are to launch immediately!" Miguel, Rusty, Yzak, Nicol and Dearka all glanced up at the sound of the announcement.

"Great...here we go." Miguel muttered, climbing into the cockpit of his GINN. Yzak, Dearka, Nicol and Rusty followed suit, climbing into their cockpits as well.

"Hey guys..." Miguel remarked. "I wanna see us all come out of this alive."

"Sure, we'll do that." Yzak stated.

"Yeah, no problem!" Dearka exclaimed.

"Don't worry, I'm sure we will." Nicol added.

"Let's go out there and kick some ass!" Rusty exclaimed as they were all shot into space, one by one.

Meanwhile, Mwu slipped onto the bridge unnoticed by the rest of the crew.

"Hey there." he remarked, nearly making Murrue jump.

"Oh, Mwu, it's you." Murrue commented. "Shouldn't you be launching?"

"Heh, yes I should, but not before coming to see you first." Mwu replied. Murrue blushed slightly as Mwu took her hand causing her to rise from her seat. Before Murrue could say anything else, Mwu had quickly brought her into a kiss. Murrue was a bit shocked at first, but later accepted this action from Mwu. As they pulled apart, Mwu gave her a reassuring smile before quickly leaving the bridge, heading straight for the hangar.

"Everyone it's time to launch!" stated Cagalli as she went past the three pilots and led them all with her to the hangar. All three readied themselves and were now ready for launch.

"Let's do this!" stated Sting who was all but ready to end this fight.

"Yes, let's..." responded Stella who was for once agreeing with the enthused pilot.

"You guys watch your backs. We've got a reputation to keep." Auel stated laughing slightly at the end.

"Alright you three, we're launching now!" said Cagalli as the four units made their way to the battlefield alongside the other units.

Shani gave a slight chuckle as he helped the two pilots to their feet.

"Be a bit more careful next time..." Shani remarked. "Don't wanna see anyone getting hurt now do we?"

Orga was a little more than shocked with Lyai's actions.

"And I expect the same from you..." he whispered in her ear as he gently wrapped his arms around her. He didn't want to care about the battle, or anything at that moment except for the two of them...together. Crot couldn't help but smile at the sight of Meamie as he took her into his arms.

"We'll get through this...you'll see." Crot reassured. Just when it seemed that things were finally settling down, the rumble of clashing units could be felt.

"Oh no...it's already started." Shani murmured, looking reluctantly towards the gate.

"It's time..." Lacus stated. "Kira, Athrun, it's time for you to launch."

"We understand." Athrun stated, quickly leaving the bridge and dashing down the corridors. Kira was about to do the same until he was stopped by Lacus.

"Kira, please don't die out there..." Lacus commented, giving Kira a hopeful look.

"I'll come back, and that's a promise." Kira stated, running off in the same direction as Athrun.

"Are the METEOR systems ready?" Lacus questioned.

"Almost." Andrew answered. "They'll be ready by the time the Freedom and the Justice get out there."

"Alright Shinn, are you ready?" asked the operator.

"Yeah, I guess I am." Shinn stated.

"Prepare for launch!" remarked another. Both parts of the Impulse were shot from the Minerva as they quickly joined to form the Gundam.

"Shinn, your job is to guard the PLANTs, understood?" questioned the captain.

"Yes ma'am, understood." Shinn replied, flying over to assist some of the GINNs already trying to defend the colonies. It was then that he spotted the Gundams. 'They're here?' he thought, letting his curiosity get the better of him. 'Why now?' He moved the Impulse a bit closer , trying to scope out the full situation.

As the alarms began to sound the group of pilots could not deny the duty that lay before them. Ai looked over to Raithe with a weary look. He simply nodded while placing his finger over her lips.

"Don't worry, we're all going to see this thing through." he assured as he ran in the direction where the other two girls were. "Hey you two, I hate break up your love but we've got a war to fight here!" he shouted out to him as he made his way over to Cerberus. Although his actions were a bit rude the girls knew he was right.

"Orga..." she said softly as she took one last look deeply into his, she then slowly backed away and joined Raithe going over to the units.

Meamie was the last they were waiting on, but it had seemed that she was just about ready to go on her way. Letting go of Crot's uniform and giving in to his embrace she looked up at him as she moved her face closer to his. With one last passionate kiss she then looked into his eyes, a small tear sliding down the side of her face, as she whispered to him. "I love you..."

With that she made her way back with the others as all three got suited up, prepped and launched onto the battlefield. The Leviathan, Pegasus and Fenrir were positioned nearby the ships as backup, letting the others go at it in the battlefield. If at all necessary the three would abandon that post and go to assist the others but right now those ships needed protecting.

Meanwhile still on the Epsilon, the three pilots were now grouped together a bit closer. Ai was still with them but she knew they had no more time to waste.

"Shani, Crot, Orga... You guys made a promise to me a long time ago now, and for you three to keep this promise you've been through a lot of rough times. This time it's my turn to repay that. Here." she said as she handed the three vials. "It may not be the best but it's effects won't wear off when you need the strength most. I'll be seeing you all again after this..." she said as she took one last look at the trio and dashed to get herself onto the battlefield as well.

The stage was set, the units all there and ready to begin. GENESIS was nearly ready and the Earth Alliance was itching to fire their nuclear missals at the PLANTs. It was the fight for supremacy of one supreme race and where the victor would not be decided until the last unit standing had finally collapsed. This group of discharged pilots who had abandoned their posts for a greater good wasn't about to let that happen. This group would fight until the end, with every last breath to find the answer to peace and the end of this war...

**Author's Notes:** Okay, for those of you wondering who's controlling Epsilon I am sorry but I cannot answer that. Sorry, but I have to save some secrets for the ending. After all we only have two more pahses left and then... THE END! It's sort of depressing now that I think about it... All of that work and finally we're reaching the end of the line. Don't get me wrong, I wanted to see this thing through to the end it just feels like it's all happening so very fast. Well the time has come for the final battle to commence. After saying their goodbyes and making their promises the pilots have been launched onto the battlefield and are ready for anything. Whether it be the horrible sights that lay before them or the sacrificing of their own lives, they will fight it out to the end!


	49. The Final Battle

**Phase 49: The Final Battle**

Shani, Crot and Orga took a last glance at Ai as she dashed away. They quickly downed the drug and took off towards their Gundams. The Forbidden, Raider and Calamity were quickly launched and joined up with the others. The Freedom and the Justice had just equipped the METEOR systems and had positioned themselves in front of the PLANTS. The Earth Alliance mobile suits took this as the chance to strike two Gundams and the colonies down amd began to launch as much of their nuclear missiles as possible, hoping to hit either the Gundams or the PLANTS.

"Come on Kira, we gotta stop those things before they hurt innocent people!" Athrun remarked, shooting off rounds from the METEOR system, trying to deflect the nukes before they destroyed the PLANTS. At the same time, ZAFT took this as an opportunity and began to destroy any Strike Daggar in their sight.

"We can't just let them kill each other off can we?" Orga sarcastically remarked.

"We can't afford to have either side win this..." Miguel replied.

"Then we're just gonna have to put a stop to this!" Shani commented as he struck down a GINN that seemed to be getting too close to the ships.

"Let's go! Before too much damage can be caused..." Stella stated.

"I'm with you!" Sting added.

"Alright, then I'm coming too." Auel remarked.

"We're gonna go make sure that the Earth Alliance doesn't get too close to the PLANTS... that may be more than the Freedom and the Justice can handle alone." Stella explained, moving the Gaia forward and leading the Abyss and Chaos.

"We'll do the same with ZAFT." Yzak stated, heading off towards the other side of the battlefield followed by the Blitz, Buster and GINN.

"We'll go and see if we can find a way to destroy GENESIS." Shani explained, leading Calamity and Raider towards the giant weapon.

"Hurry, they're already getting that reflector into place!" Crot stated as they shot even faster towards GENESIS.

"I don't think you're going to get near that..." came a voice as a laser struck Raider.

"What the fuck!" Crot growled, turning to see the Providence blocking their way to GENESIS.

"I'm afraid I can't let you ruin this...I'll just have to be rid of you!" Creuset sneered as he brought out the beam sword and tried to strike down the Raider. Crot managed to narrowly dodge the attack by flying out of the way just in time.

"Damn...this guy's serious..." Crot grumbled, returning to the others.

"We're not afraid to take you down!" Shani remarked, starting to charge Forbidden's plasma cannon.

"I'd like to see you try!" hissed Creuset as he flew straight towards the Forbidden.

Meanwhile as Yzak approached the ZAFT troops, a Gundam knocked him away.

"Hey...who the hell are you!" Yzak demanded, unhappy about the sudden attack.

"I'm Shinn Asuka, pilot of the Impulse Gundam and I'm here to stop you..." Shinn murmured.

"Get out of our way!" Yzak growled.

"Can't do that...I have my orders to defend these troops even from the likes of you." Shinn explained. "Now come at me!" The Archangel seemed to be having problems of their own as a barrage of helldarts came raining down upon them.

"Azrael..." Murrue muttered, seeing what had been the cause of the earlier attacks.

"Why yes it is...and I'm going to deal with you for the last time..." Azrael sneered.

Meanwhile, the Minerva and the Versalius shot round after round at the Kusanagi, Eternal and Epsilon.

"Argh...we have to keep those away!" Cagalli shouted as she maneuvered the Strike Rouge around trying to defend as much of the three ships as possible.

"You might want some assistance with that..." Mwu commented as the Strike intercepted several other rounds headed towards the ships. Things were only beginning as the battle had only reached it's starting stages...

"Get away from him!" sneered Meamie as she came to Crot's defence, knocking away the Providence.

"Meamie fall back now!" Lyai cautioned as the Pegasus was getting in close range of enemy attacks.

"Don't worry, I'll take it from here Meamie." came Raithe as he took her place between the four units, staring down the Providence. "You..." he muttered coldly. "How dare you touch my friends!" The Fenrir came in and rammed the unit to the side as he tried his best to keep up an attack on the Gundam. If he would stop even for a split second it would allow Creuset to retaliate, which he could not afford.

"Raithe..." Meamie said softly as Pegasus fell back to the ships' protection.

"Meamie, look over there!" Lyai shouted. Meamie closed in near the PLANTs as she saw a barrage of nuclear missals. "Quickly!"

"Right, I'm on it!" Meamie responded as Pegasus launched a counter strike eliminating the barrage just in time. "That was too close... I don't have enough energy to keep fighting those and these mobiles off!" she stated as she resumed her fighting stance and knocked away from Strike Daggers and enemy ships getting too close for comfort.

"Oh no we're too late!" came Lyai's voice as the reflector was set in place.

"No, I can't let this happen..." whispered Ai as her Cerberus was positioned dead center of it's firing range. "Everyone please get out now! GENESIS is about to fire!" she shouted out to all of the units whether friend or foe. It seemed as if none took her seriously, until the weapon was activated...

"Ai get out of there now!" shouted Raithe who was more concerned with her than Providence.

"Please get out of it's fire range quick!" called Lyai as she attempted talk sense into the child. The units in range had taken her heed and were now fleeing, but just before she was about to join them a shot was taken at her. When she was blind sided Providence had set it's DRAGOON system on the girl and she was thus trapped in the area.

"No Ai!" shouted Meamie as she was about to rush in to help her. However, Lyai stood in her way, a look of pain on her face.

"We can't do anything now..." she said softly as she beam was now fully charged and the ray shot out through the cold space...

"Ai!" came a shout from a vessel. It was the Epsilon that was now mere inches away from the Cerberus.

"C-Commander!" Raithe stated in pure shock. As the ray cleared it was found that the Epsilon had gotten in the way of the Cerberus as it knocked the unit away just enough to push Ai into safety...

"Erasu... No..." Lyai muttered as tears began to roll down her face. Meamie joined her in her greif as what remained of the ship floated on aimlessly.

"You bastard!" came a disgusted sneer from the Fenrir. "You... I'LL KILL YOU!" With that the Fenrir began to ruthlessly attack the units surrounding him as he made his way after the Providence which was now stationed behind a long line of other ZAFT soldiers. Ai had just come back to her senses after the sight she held before her, nearly experiencing death. It was then she noticed that Raithe was closing in on a familiar mobile suit, and it wasn't the Providence.

"Raithe stop it!" Ai called out to him but he didn't dare answer. Before Ai knew what she was doing she shot in his path thus causing his attention to shift to her.

"WHY!" he demanded furiously.

"Please stop it, Raithe... What kind of person do you hope to become that way..? How could I ever look at you the same, brother!" she shouted as tears began to flow.

Meanwhile Lyai had closed in on the units trying to repair GENESIS as she shot them down.

"We can't keep protecting against this thing." she said as Meamie soon joined her. The two units continued their barrage until all the ZAFT pilots could do to keep them at bay was to fire back and not fix the machine.

"We have to find some way to destroy it..." Kira murmured.

"How could we have let this happen!" Shani growled as the Forbidden floated around the pieces of debris from the Epsilon.

"Damn...all we can do right now is try to stall them from putting in another reflector..." Crot mumbled.

"We'll hold off the Providence while you guys slow down the process of setting up that reflector!" Yzak remarked, breaking off from the group followed by Dearka.

"Fine, Nicol and I will continue to hold off the ZAFT forces..." Miguel stated.

"The Duel and the Buster...what a fine match this will be..." Cruset chuckled as he sped towards the two Gundams.

"Come on, he can't hit us both at once!" Dearka commented. The Duel and the Buster managed to evade the oncoming attack as the Providence zoomed back for another attack.

"You can't win just by running away..." Cruset murmured, closing in on the Buster.

"Which is why I'm doing this!" Yzak remarked as the Duel hit the Providence out of the way with it's beam sword.

"We'll see who is the true victor!" Cruset exclaimed, firing off it's DRAGOON system as it homed in on the Duel.

"Yzak! Look out!" Dearka called, but a bit too late as the Gundam was caged in by the lasers causing serious damage to the Duel.

"Damned Bastard!" Dearka shouted, shooting several rounds from Buster's cannon and watching as they struck the other Gundam. "Gotcha." Dearka remarked.

"Not quite..." Cruset stated as the providence shot from the smoke and knocked the Buster away causing it to drop it's cannon.

"Don't you dare touch him you sick freak!" Yzak yelled as the Duel grabbed onto the Providence trying to restrict it's movements towards the Buster. "I won't let him die!"

"Fool! Do you think you could really stop me!" Cruset hissed. "For that, you will pay with your life!" The Providence threw the Duel off itself and retaliated with another blow from it's DRAGOON system.

"Argh...that bastard...he got me good..." Yzak muttered as a shower of sparks was emitted from the controls. The Duel was heavily damaged and could no longer move as the Providence closed in for the finish.

"I won't let you..." Dearka murmured, shooting the Providence with it's cannon that it had managed to retrieve. 'We can't keep this up much longer...' Dearka thought, seeing as how he had caught Cruset's attention.

"Hey Auel, can I ask you a favor?" Shani questioned through the com. system. "Yeah, what is it?" Auel replied, wondering what the other pilot had planned.

"I want you, Stella and Sting to go stall the instalation of the second reflector. We'll handle the Earth Alliance. After all, we have some...unfinished business with Azrael..." Shani explained.

"Sure, but we gotta make this fast." Auel stated. The Forbidden, Calamity and Raider swapped positions with the Abyss, Gaia and Chaos.

"Strike the Dominion...make sure it goes down in flames!" Shani growled as the Forbidden, Raider and Calamity flew in between the ongoing battle between the Archangel and the Dominion.

"What are they doing?" Murrue questioned as she watched the three Gundams attack the black legged ship.

"Hold it." Azrael instructed. "Focus all of you're fire on those three units! Don't let them destroy this ship!" 'If they think they're gonna win this then they thought wrong...' Azrael thought. The heavy rain of fire that had previously been focused on the Archangel was now being aimed at the Forbidden, Raider and Calamity.

"Dodge everything they throw at us, just keep hitting!" Orga remarked.

"Sir, the damage on this ship...it's reached 75 percentand climbing!" remarked an operator. "We can't win at this rate!"

"I don't care! Just keep shooting! Kill them! Kill them all!" Azrael hollered.

"But sir, we're all in danger! This ship could explode if the damage gets any higher!" reasoned another operator.

"Do you think we win wars by running away! Stay at your posts!" Azrael hissed.

"Knowing Azrael, he's just gonna stick this one out till the end..." Orga commented.

"Which is fine by me." Crot added. As they continued their assault on the black legged ship, the Archangel began lending assistance, being careful not to hit the three units.

"You think the two of you can stand a chance? Why don't you just give up now?" Shinn remarked, seeing the GINN and the Blitz struggle in trying to hold off the fleet of ZAFT mobile suits and the Impulse all at once.

"Because...why would we fight if we know that we're just gonna give up in the first place!" Nicol remarked, dealing a blow to the Impulse.

"Come on, is that all you got!" Miguel remarked as he took out more units out of the troop of GINNs.

"What do you people expect to accomplish by going against your own side? It's hopeless!" Shinn commented.

"That's where you're wrong...it's never hopeless!" Nicol replied, managing to get close to the Impulse using the Mirage Colloid and struck the Impulse with Blitz's blade.

"Doing alright Nicol?" Miguel questioned.

"Yeah, I'm doing just fine, no need to worry about me!" Nicol cheerfully exclaimed while still battling with the Impulse.

"We have to do something about the Versalius and the Minerva...we can't just keep on defending the ships forever...the energy's starting to run low on the Rouge." Cagalli commented.

"Yeah, same here." Mwu stated, trying to hold off the fire from the other two ships as the Kusanagi and the Eternal retaliated with their own barrage of rounds.

Meanwhile, the Gaia, Abyss and the Chaos were striking down the GINNs that were trying to put up the second reflector.

"Shit...they're coming in numbers now...I guess they don't want us messing up their plans..." Sting commented as he knocked several others away.

"We won't let them finish their plans anyways..." Auel remarked. The Freedom and the Justice were currently still trying to find a way to destroy GENESIS.

"It's like there's no way to destroy it..." Kira murmured.

"Nonsense Kira, if you can build ii, then there must be a way to tear it down!" Athrun commented. "Just keep trying!" GINNs started to barrage the two Gundams in gunfire, trying to impede their actions in anyway possible.

"It seems like some of the forces are dwindling..." came a slight pant from Lyai who was becoming a bit exhausted after fending off so many units. "But I doubt our energy levels can keep up for much longer... OMEGA's units were built more advanced but even they have limits, the only ones with enough power are the Freedom and the Justice... and maybe that strange one with the DRAGOON system as well."

"No matter what it is we have to put a stop to them, you agree? If the others are fighting hard then so can we!" Meamie stated as she sent more shots at the GINNs trying to replace the reflector. "Right now what concerns me is that thing! If they place it back into place who knows what will happen next!"

"But how can we possibly destroy something like that from here!" stated Lyai at a loss for what to do while the Leviathan took out nearby units trying to hinder them from keeping the GINNs at bay. "I mean the only logical way is from the inside but what could be powerful enough to wipe that out..?"

"Another nuclear explosion, that's what." came a soft voice over the com.

"Ai..?" questioned Lyai. "Yes.. I suppose you're right but what could cause one of those, if you haven't noticed our arsenal lacks that sort of firepower."

"Unless... Wait a minute!" Meamie blurted as she finally got the message only to become completely shocked at her realization. "Oh no Ai, you can't possibly be thinking that-"

"Yes... I'm going to do it..." she said softly as the Cerberus made it's way closer to GENESIS.

"Wait Ai! What are you thinking!" came Raithe as the Fenrir stood in her way.

"I'm going to destroy that thing before more innocent lives are lost!" she snapped back at him with more tension in her voice than ever before. "I won't let anyone else die..."

"No... I can't let you do this Ai!" he stated as Fenrir stood it's ground. the two were completely oblivious to the events going on around them...

"I'm sorry Raithe, but this is the last chance for me to put an end to this. It may not be the end of the fighting or even this war but it will give you all a fighting chance..." she responded as tears began to roll down her face.

"But Ai... You can't... I don't want to lose you again! You're my sister Ai I don't want to see you go!" he said as he could no longer fight off his tears. In his heart he knew he couldn't stand in her way and he didn't want to fight her. As the Fenrir backed down the Cerberus sped on to GENESIS leaving behind all of the other pilots as she readied herself for what she was about to do...

Meanwhile Lyai and Meamie had gone off to help Nicol and Miguel fight off the ZAFT units.

"Lay off!" shouted Lyai as she knocked a few units out of her way. She was now by Miguel's side helping to bring down the ever persistent forces.

"Are you blind! We're trying to put an end to this war whereas your forces are trying to step this war up to the next level! Do you honestly think that by letting war involve this sort of nuclear warfare you're actually saving lives?" Meamie reasoned to the Impulse as she backed Nicol up.

After the Fenrir had finally coped with letting Ai go it was then a familiar sight caught his eye. 'It's him... That unit... He'll pay!' he thought as Fenrir rushed down and struck the Providence as he was blind sided.

"You, you bastard! Trying to use nuclear warfare to solve this war, you sick son of a bitch!" Raithe sneered as his unit struck the Providence with a direct hit and knocked away it's right arm. He was a ways away from the unit after he had charged but turned back to face it again, having caught the pilot's full attention now. "Next time I won't miss, I promise that..." he stated as he sent Creuset a cold glare and a determined look. The Fenrir was charging at Providence and about to finally take down the unit when all of a sudden a blinding flash engulfed the entire area.

"Wh-what's that!" Meamie questioned in shock as she turned her attention to the source.

"I don't know... Where's it coming from?" asked Lyai who was just as clueless as her friend.

"Oh no... AI!" Raithe shouted out as the Fenrir immediately went after the source. That blinding flash that had been seen throughout the raging battlefield seemed to send a silent hush to all of the soldiers as the message was clear... GENESIS was now gone, but it had seemed to had taken with it two units...

**Author's Notes:** Well it's been a long time coming and finally we are reaching the conclusion to this story. War Torn has become my role playing pride and joy and I hope you all have enjoyed the story as much as we have writing. We've lost some good characters and gained a few along with cheating death and twisting the story at the last minute and I'm happy to say the end product was much better than expected. Yes, I know I'm saying this stuff as if this is the end but it's not. After all there's still a final conclusion in which I bet you all are dying to read. However, we've finally caught up to where we left off in the actual role play. This of course meaning that the exciting finale is still in the works. Be seeing you all next time.


	50. Sacrifice After Sacrifice

**Phase 50: Sacrifice after Sacrifice**

Everything slowed down to a halt as everyone on the battlefield seemed to have their attention focused on the resulting explosion caused by GENESIS. All the units froze, no more rounds of fire were being exchanged between either side as what had just happened began to sink in.

"N-No...It can't be..." Shani murmured, realizing what the only thing that could've caused the explosion was.

"It's not possible..." Athrun whispered, letting the Justice drift.

"Ai! Please! Say something! You can't be gone!" Shani hollered, not caring about the tears he was crying but rather on trying to get in contact with Ai.

"S-She can't be gone..." Crot murmured.

"Why! Why her!" Shani kept shouting, not wanting to accept the fact that Ai was gone.

"How could GENESIS have fallen to a mere child!" Creuset hissed. Everyone else was speechless. A cold, bitter feeling washed over the pilots as they scanned the debris for any sign of the missing child. The ZAFT forces and the Earth Alliance stopped dead in their tracks, trying to figure out what had just happened. Lacus had witnessed the whole thing and couldn't bear it anymore as she pushed Andrew out of the way and accessed a com. link with all of the units in the area.

"Do you now see? This is the true nature of war! A little girl lost her life trying to defend what is right! Peace cannot be attained by salvaging better and stronger weapons! Is a victory really a victory when people are mourning in sorrow? When the lives of loved ones are lost? Why must we continue to fight when there will only be more suffering? What do you people hope to attain? I urge you all to think...to make a choice for only you can bring an end to this war...by choosing not to fight any longer..." Lacus preached.

"Stand down...there's no point in fighting..." Shinn stated. "Move back to your ships this instant." Slowly, the GINNs began backing off towards their respective ships.

"Shinn, what the hell are you doing! We have the Earth Alliance on the run! They are the menace to all coordinators! We must eliminate them!" Creuset reasoned.

"I think the only one that needs exterminating is you..." Shinn spat, bring out the Impulse's beam sword.

"You...are you going to betray me as well?" Creuset questioned. "Then you'll end up just like the rest of them!" The Providence moved forward in an attempt to destroy the Impulse. The Strike Daggers paid no mind to ZAFT's situation and decided to leave it as that as they headed back towards their ships until another voice came over the com. link.

"You can't just retreat! Go on! Finish them! You can destroy them if you strike now! We can still win this!" Azrael urged, sounding quite desperate. The Strike Daggers came to a halt, but none were responding to Azrael's commands.

"Enough Azrael..." Orga growled. "Can't you see? There is no winner to this war..."

"Never! I will win this war! No matter what the cost!" Azrael sneered. "Attack, use all of the weapons! I don't care what you hit as long as it brings us victory!" The crew of the Dominion paid no mind to Azrael as they ignored his orders.

"We won't take anymore of your bullshit!" remarked one of the operators who seemed to have had enough of Azrael's judgement.

"Yeah, you can't tell us what to do anymore you heartless bitch!" added another.

"Then you're all worthless!" Azrael growled. "Every single one of you! You're no better than those Biological CPUs!" Azrael shoved one of the operators out of their place and started manipulating the controls. "If I can't win...then no one can..." Azrael murmured, activating all of the Dominion's weapons.

"Damn...we can't let him go through with this!" Auel remarked. "Everyone , we gotta stop the Dominion!" All at once, units came swarming from all directions to stop the black legged ship before it's final assault could be launched.

"Azrael, you can't win!" Murrue shouted as the Archangel aimed it's Lohengrin cannons straight for the Dominion as with the Kusanagi. The Eternal provided support along with the Strike and the Rouge. It all came down to this, whether this war could be resolved and even the fate of some units...

"Raithe... Why did you..? Dammit!" Lyai said in frustration as she slammed her fist against the controls briefly until she noticed the conflict still going on between the ships and against the strange Gundam. "What do you suppose that is? I thought they were on the same side."

"Yeah well... It seems to me like that guy needs to be put in his place, don't you agree?" Meamie stated, wiping away her tears slightly. In all truth she too was saddened for what had all just occurred but she knew that the only thing she could do now was end the fighting there. "Let's take that jackass out, now!" she said as the Pegasus shot a barrage of fire aimed directly at the Providence. Since it was being knocked around slightly by the Impulse her shots grazed the unit but just enough so to take out it's DRAGOON system.

"Yes, let's!" added Lyai as she brought Leviathan in and slammed the unit hard from above, giving Shinn a bit more space and some time to recover.

"Hey why don't you leave this one to us, cutie?" Meamie said as she saw his face for a brief moment and gave him a slight wink.

"Yeah, after all we can't have a nice pretty boy like yourself be pushed around by this psycho." remarked Lyai as she took her position at Meamie's side. "Well then, shall we take him out for good and be done with it?" she questioned.

"Attack pattern Gamma Delta; we can take that thing down with ease." Meamie said as she awaited Lyai's signal.

"Now!" she said as the two rushed the Providence into some nearby debris from GENESIS. Both units shot back to see that they had crippled the unit slightly, but not enough for Creuset still had enough control to do harm. Aiming their cannons they both fired a few rounds to wear away at the controls and waited for the smoke to clear. The battle would not be over until all those seeking war and destruction had gone as well.

The Dominion could barely defend against the attacks by the mobile suits.

"We don't want anymore to do with this! We're evacuating!" remarked one of the operators as the others nodded and began desperately making their way to the escape shuttle.

"You can't leave! We need to fight them!" Azrael shouted.

"Too bad, fight them yourself!" sneered another operator. Suddenly, a small click was heard.

"Don't you dare move another step..." Azrael murmured, pointing a gun at the remaining portion of the crew. "That is, unless you want to leave the Dominion in pieces!" Being unable to do a thing against Azrael, the crew had no choice but to cease any movement.

Meanwhile, outside, the units were still battering the ship. 'Hey...shouldn't the crew have evaacuated by now?' Orga thought, seeing how no one had yet to use the escape shuttle, 'Damn...Azrael's probably not gonna let them go without a fight...I'd better go check it out...' The Calamity shot towards the Dominion's hangar, with Orga hoping to find out what had happened to the crew onboard. Crot noticed where the other unit was going and decided to question the other pilot about it.

"Where the fuck do you think you're going! That ship is gonna be scrap metal soon and I don't think you want to be on it..." Crot hollered.

"Don't worry, I'll be back...I just need to check something..." Orga stated.

"And get your ass killed! I don't think so!" Crot argued, moving Raider in Calamity's way.

"Move Crot..." Orga muttered.

"I won't let you go back there!" Crot stated, not waivering in his decision.

"Don't you find it odd that the crew hasn't evacuated yet? And I'm sure you know what kind of man Azrael is...put the two together and what do you get!" Orga reasoned.

"I see...but I want you back in one piece got that?" Crot remarked. "Now get going..."

"Yeah." Orga replied as the Calamity moved past the Raider on it's way to the ship.

Orga managed to break into it's hangar and spotted the portion of the crew that managed to make it off the bridge. "What going on?" he demanded.

"I-It's Azrael...he's got the others hostage up on the bridge..." stammered one of the personnel.

"Hey, hold on...I'll be right back...don't move from here unless I don't get back in fifteen minutes, got it?" Orga questioned. All he received were slight nods from the crew. He dashed off grabbing his handgun in the process. 'Azrael...your time's just about up...' Orga thought as he reached the door that led to the bridge. He decided tp hurry as tremors could be felt throughout the ship. "Here goes nothing..." he murmured as he walked through the door, handgun held tightly in his hand.

"What the?" Azrael questioned, surprised by their 'unexpected' visitor.

"Let them go Azrael...this ship's ready to blow and you know that!" Orga stated.

"You can't tell me what to do! I'll kill you! You're nothing but a defiant tool!" Azrael hollered as he fired several shots toward the pilot. Orga managed to dodge some of the bullets, but cringed as two of them managed to bury themselves in his arm.

"Fuck you!" he growled as he shot several shot in return and gave a smirk of satisfactory as most of them managed to find their target.

"Gah...damn you..." Azrael managed to gasp, trying to get back up.

"I've had just about enough of your damned voice..." Orga coldly remarked as he fired several more shots towards the man who had caused him and others so much pain. "That takes care of him...why don't you guys get out of here? This ship isn't gonna last much longer..." Orga stated as he watched the remainder of the crew scramble away. 'Speaking of which, I'd better got going, or else I'm gonna get a mouth full from Crot...' Orga though as he dashed back to the hangar. He quickly climbed back into Calamity's cockpit as shot out of the Dominion just as the ship exploded in a fiery blaze.

"Heh, at least you made it out..." came a voice as Orga turned the Calamity around to face the Raider.

"What? Don't tell me you doubted me!" Orga remarked.

"Who knows...you were taking quite the while..." Crot replied as a smirk appeared on his face. Shani had been listening in on Orga and Crot's conversation, but he still only had one thing on his mind...

Meanwhile, Nicol and Miguel had spotted Shinn and the girls fighting against Cruset.

"Hey, mind if we join in?" Miguel questioned.

"We'd be happy to help!" Nicol commented. Dearka had made his way over to the Duel.

"Yzak, hey, are you alright in there?" Dearka questioned.

"Yeah, doing just fine...as for the Duel...I don't think I can say the same..." Yzak replied, his voice clouded with static from the damaged control panel.

"You've done enough anyways." Dearka chuckled as he came to assist the Duel. Miguel and Nicol came at Creuset with all they had hoping to be rid of their ruthless commander once and for all. The Blitz came and struck the Providence up close with it's blade. While Miguel came up close for a final finish.

"Sorry commander, but you have to go..." Miguel murmured as his GINN brought out several huge missiles and aimed straight for Providence's cockpit.

"N-No, you can't do this to me!" Creuset hissed.

"Hell yes I can!" Miguel replied as he fired the missiles and watched as they all landed their target.

"Is he gone?" Nicol questioned, trying to peer through the smoke on his screen.

"I think he is..." Miguel commented, finding demolished scrap littering the spot where the Providence used to be.

"Let's get out of here then..." Nicol quickly stated, not wanting to be near the demolished Gundam. Both of the units headed back towards the group as they watched the GINNs and the Strike Daggers head off.

"We have to look for her..." Shani spoke up suddenly.

"He's right, she could still be out there..." Athrun added.

"Everyone spread out and look." Cagalli stated. The units began searching the debris around the area where GENESIS had exploded.

"I'm not finding anything..." Mwu muttered.

"We have to keep trying... she never gave up on us..." Crot murmured, still searching through the debris.

"Come on, just look harder..." Miguel commented. Dearka and Yzak were scanning the area using the Buster's sensors.

"There's nothing showing up..." Dearka murmured.

"Damn...we have to find something..." Orga muttered.

"We can't give up..." Nicol whispered, still rummaging around.

"Search every area, we're bound to find something." Shinn commented.

"Don't skip out on anything, got it?" Stella commented as the Gaia, Abyss and Chaos searched through one area.

After a while, many of the pilots were beginning to feel slightly hopeless.

"Maybe we should be heading back..." Sting murmured. "We've combed the area and found nothing..."

"I don't know..." Athrun remarked. "Maybe we should stay..."

"We've been out here for so long...what if she really is...gone?" Dearka stated.

"Come on, there's nothing left..." Stella commented. The others followed in silence, trying to not accept the fact that she was no longer going to be among them. A grave tone was set as they were about to return to the ships until a slight feud caused them to turn around.

"I'm not going until I can find something!" came a stubborn yell.

"But Shani..." Crot mumbled.

"We have looked, Shani...sometimes, you just have to accept these things..." Orga reasoned, trying to get the other pilot to calm down.

"No! I-I won't! I don't care! Y-You can just leave, but I'm not going anywhere!" Shani shouted, not noticing that he was crying tears once more. "I-I'm not leaving..."

"This doesn't feel right..." Meamie said softly as she stopped heading for the ships. "Kanta... the commander... Not him too..." she said trying to hold back her tears.

"You're right... It doesn't..." responded Lyai with a hopeful smile. "There's still hope, he might not have been killed by the explosion, Meamie." she reasoned as the Leviathan went back to searching, soon joined by the Pegasus.

"_... ... ... H-... elp... ... u-... us... "_

The static transmission made the units freeze.

"That voice!" exclaimed Lyai as she desperately looked around in every direction. "It... it can't be..."

"Over here! Over here everyone please come quickly!" shouted Meamie as the Pegasus made it's way over to a long chain of debris. The Leviathan soon joined her as the two units froze in place at the sight before them.

There now orbiting in the chain of debris from GENESIS were the two fallen units. The once proud OMEGA unit, Fenrir and what remained of their mother ship, Epsilon along with the Cerberus itself. Each unit had sacrificed much in the battle and now those sacrifices were finally repaid...

Two small pilots were now shielded from harms way beneath the debris, still alive and breathing.

The transmissions that were being sent between the Forbidden, Calamity and Raider suddenly came to a halt as they heard the words that had been sent through the static clouded transmission. The Forbidden immediately headed in the direction of the Leviathan and the Pegasus followed by the Raider and Calamity. The others quickly abandoned their idea of heading towards the ship and quickly headed for the spot where the transmission had come from. Shani was speechless when he arrived on the scene. Still in tears, he managed to push himself out of his cockpit and made his way to the two pilots as they laid in the debris.

"Ai...I thought I had lost you for sure this time...but I'm glad...you're okay...and it's all over..." Shani murmured, cradling Ai tightly in his arms. Everyone else had also left their cockpits and gathered around.

"We need to get them to a ship immediately." Stella explained, noticing their current conditions.

"Let's hurry then, we don't want to lose them." Crot stated.

"They should come back with us, the Eternal has a pretty good sick bay and it's the closest ship." Athrun commented.

"Sure...make sure they get the medical attention they need." Shani muttered, reluctantly handing Ai over to Athrun as Orga picked up Raithe and handed him over to Kira.

"Don't worry, we'll make sure tht nothing happens to them." Kira replied with a smile, glad to see that the two were still alive and that the horrible war was over. Athrun and Kira made their way back to the Freedom and the Justice and sped off towards the Eternal.

"Come on, let's get back to the ship, I don't want to stay here any longer..." Miguel commented as he manuvered his GINN back towards the Archangel.

"Alright, I wanna get outta here too." Dearka commented as the Buster and the Duel headed towards the Archangel.

"Everything turned out alright after all..." Auel remarked as a slight smile formed on his face.

"We won't have to fight anymore..." Sting added.

"Looks like you guys are going to have to board the Kusanagi." Cagalli commented, gesturing towards the remains of the Epsilon.

"Yeah, you're right, now let's get out of here...the others are already back on the ships." Orga remarked.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Crot questioned.

"Let's go then!" Sting exclaimed as they all headed back towards the ship leaving the battlefield behind them.

"Everything turned out alright in the end didn't it?" Andrew questioned, waiting for a reply from Lacus.

"Yes, it did...the fighting, the anger and hatred, this war has now come to an end and I am glad that there were no casualties among the pilots." Lacus stated.

"Lacus!" came a shout.

"Oh, Kira, Athrun! You're back!" Lacus exclaimed, leaping up from he seat and making her way over to the two pilots. "Are you both okay?"

"Yes we are." Athrun replied. "Ai and Raithe are currently recovering in sick bay, they're the ones who stopped GENESIS."

"I see." Lacs replied. "I'm just glad no one fell victim to this war...we are very fortunate indeed."

"Yeah, that's true..." Kira replied, thinking back on their rigorous battle that they had managed to pull through.

"You two should get some rest, you must be exhausted." Andrew commented as he also made his way to greet the two pilots. "What you did out there was amazing."

"Ah, thank you..." Kira replied.

"I think I might just go take a nap for a bit..." Athrun commented, beginning feeling the aches that were beginning to catch up to him.

"Me too." Kira added as he followed Athrun off the bridge. "Please inform us of any change in Ai or Raithe's condition."

"Sure thing, now go rest up, you deserve it." Andrew replied. "It's amazing what those two can achieve..."

"You did it!" Murrue exclaimed as the rest of the Archangel crew greeted Miguel, Rusty, Yzak, Dearka, Nicol and Mwu.

"Heh, we're just glad to be back here in one piece!" Dearka chuckled.

"That's wonderful!" Murrue exclaimed. "I'm just so happy that you all made it back safely. Now that the war's over, we can all start over..."

"Yeah, in fact, I'm kinda looking forward to life without war!" Nicol happily remarked.

"I'm just happy that it's all over and we can move on." Yzak commented.

"It'll be kinda strange...no war, but it's an adjustment that I'll be glad to make!" Rusty added.

"You kids...we actually did it!" Mwu remarked as he joined in the conversation.

"Everything's going to be so different now..." Shani remarked as he looked out of one of the windows and stared out into the now empty battlefield that was once filled with soldiers who were willing to battle to the death.

"There's no one to control us now..." Crot added.

"Maybe...we can actually 'live' life...you know, be 'normal'." Orga suggested.

"Heh, only time can tell...we'll just have to wait and see." Shani replied.

"We wanna know how that would feel too." Auel added as Stella and Sting also stepped into the hallway.

"I can't believe it...he's gone." Sting murmured.

"The only man who could've kept us from ever being happy is now gone." Stella added.

"I guess that's why, beneath all the questions, there's a feeling of happiness... and I want to savor it." Shani stated, turning back to face the others.

"Face it, no more war, no more Azrael." Crot added.

"Yeah...things are going to be very different, but it'll be for the better." Orga stated. Everyone nodded in agreement as they looked forward to a life without fighting, a life without war...

"Ai... Ai... Please get up."

'F-... Father..? Is that you!'

"Ai... We're all here please wake up..."

"F-!" Ai woke up abruptly as she sprung up from place and looked around desperately for the source of the voice. It was then she realized who was calling out to her from her comatose state. "Raithe... I-it's you!" she exclaimed.

"Ai, you're awake... I'm glad." he replied as he sat down at the edbe of the bed. He had just recently woken up himself but was more concerned with her well-being.

"What happened? I... I thought we were..."

"I came to you just in time. If it wasn't for those few seconds then we both would have never made it... But that's not important anymore..." he stated a bit bluntly as Ai looked carefully into his eyes. "We've been transferred here, we're currently in the PLANTs and it seems the others are out getting themselves back to normal. Or as normal as they can be..."

"Then... it's finally all over, isn't it brother..?" she questioned hopefully, trying to fight her tears.

"Yes... it's finally done Ai. We no longer have to hide now. We've finally fulfilled our purpose..." he said softly with a smile as he wiped away her tears. "And I know that there are more things in store for us here than anywhere else. Instead of fighting." Ai nodded slightly as she moved over to Raithe who took her in his arms.

Fate had been on their side and after their long and tired struggle for peace it had come thanks to the sacrifice they were willing to give. Yes, as it was and it had been Ai would no longer have to live by her code. For every sacrifice she had done she had gained a new ally in the process. Sacrifice after sacrifice and finally...

Peace...

Father... If you can hear me now please I want you to know this more than anything else. Whatever it was they made me into I was still me through it all and I'm glad that I can finally start to remember. Now I can move on. A lot has happened since then, father. I'm so very grateful for what you did that day. You believed in me and now I can finally believe in myself. And Raithe, I found him, father! I found your son... I found my big brother... after all these years...

I'll go on living for you and everyone else who we've lost. I've learned that sometimes in order to truly make a myth come to life sacrifices and sorrow will follow. But after all the tears have passed and when you finally reach it you learn that all along that myth was a dream. A dream and a memory that passed me by so long ago it took me so long to finally remember. So thank you, Cerberus... father...

_I'll never forget... and I'll never be alone. Never again..._

**Author's Notes:** Well people, there you have it! The end of War Torn! Can you believe it? I never thought it would ever be months and 50 phases later but we made it. Anyway, to all who have been faithfully been reading, thank you so much. This story was a long way coming for both Flame and myself and to see it completed and read by so many is very heart-warming indeed. Please feel free to contact me and review if you still have any questions. War Torn, a Gundam Seed/Destiny role play turned fanfiction started from the whim of too weary writers, has reached its conclusion but just as the storiesgo thereare still many unanswered questions... I hope you all await its return as the creation of a new project now ensues.

How will our war torn pilots cope with life now that the war has finally ended? Can the trio really acheive a normal life? And what of the remainder of OMEGA? Will the girls find peace in the place they've found and have they really coped with the loss of both their commander and dear Kanta? What of Raithe and Ai, now newly discovered as brother and sistser, just what are the secrets behind their past lives..? All of these questions and more await an answer...


End file.
